Lies My Brother Told Me
by anneikenskywalker
Summary: The third installment of the Elijah/Elena saga. It follows Elijah after his awakening in 3x13 "Bringing Out The Dead" through the end of the Season 3 Finale Elijah/Elena Elijah/Originals
1. Chapter 1

**_((The continuation of the Elijah/Elena saga as seen in my previous fan-fics _Memories Bring YouNear _and _Blood and Sacrifice_. We all know that at the end of Season 2, Klaus daggered Elijah after Elijah saved him during the ritual. Since then, he's been out of the picture and a lot has happened. What will Elijah now wake up to in Season 3? And will he finally turn on Klaus? This pretty much follows Elijah from the beginning of Episode 3x13 "Bringing Out the Dead" and continues from there. Again, like my previous fics, actual story context was used in this, along with some of my own additions. More chapters to come—with flashbacks, freshly awoken originals, doppelganger high-jinx, brotherly 'smack downs', and some Elijah/Elena ship moments, including an unexpected road trip. *Spoilers for Season 3*))_**

_**Disclosure: There are some actual quotes from TVD Season 3 Episodes 13 that are used to provide context. These quotes are being used in a fan-fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright intended.**_

There was nothing—only darkness.

Then suddenly there was a jolt and everything came flooding back in a blur—every sensation—every emotion—every memory—they passed by him like a fast forwarding home movie of his life.

Abruptly, it stopped and soon Elijah opened his eyes.

Lying on his back, on what felt like grass, he blinked into the sun.

As he took in his surroundings and smelled the fir trees, he immediately recognized the forest canopy of his childhood. It was beautiful and dreamlike and untouched, trees for miles and the air crisp and clean, unlike when he had visited it centuries later with Elena's aunt, Jenna.

"Elijah…" he heard a voice near him whisper

He looked to his right and immediately saw her, lying on the ground next to him, her dark curls falling over his shoulder as she snuggled against him and her deep chocolate eyes taking in his face.

At first, he thought it was Elena, but the soul behind her eyes and her olive skin kissed by the sun, gave her away immediately.

"Liliya," he smiled as he crossed his left arm over his chest and stroked her cheek gently with the back of his hand.

"Hello, my love," she whispered, closing her eyes at his touch

Elijah's heart leapt—she was _real_. He could feel the warmth of her skin.

His face crumbled as he leaned closer to her.

"I've missed you," he said softly, his eyes scanning her face, taking her in.

Liliya brought her hand to rest his and caressed it with her fingers.

"I never left…" she smiled

"Is this a dream?" Elijah asked, "The last thing I remember is Niklaus daggering me—"

"Yes, it's a dream. And soon you'll wake up," Liliya replied, moving her hand from the back of his on her cheek to the breast of his Brooks Brother's suit, "Damon's removed the dagger. It won't be long now."

Elijah looked down his front and saw that Liliya was right. The dagger was gone, leaving behind a large blood stain on his dress shirt.

"Why would Damon awaken me? I failed him—I failed _all _of them," he sighed, "I gave them my word that I would kill Niklaus, but instead I let him mislead me. I am always so conflicted when it comes to my brother—I always have been. They should not trust me."

"It's not a matter of _trust_, Elijah, it's a matter of _need_. You and your brother share a complicated and torrid past, it's true, but you have always been an honorable man and, though your judgment has been clouded, you will prove yourself again in time. You are the only one older than Niklaus, the only one stronger. You could end this fight once and for all—"

"But, I promised my father."

"Mikael is dead. Your promise no longer matters."

"Even if that is true…what of my siblings? Kol and Finn and Rebekah—Niklaus promised to take me to them—"

"Tell me, Elijah" Liliya asked, sitting up beside him, her hair falling over her bare shoulder as one side of her linen tunic dress fell, "Are the promise to your father and the idea of being reunited with your family, the _only_ reasons you haven't killed Niklaus when you've had the chance?"

Elijah remained silent, averting his gaze.

Liliya studied his face for a moment, before stroking her hand through his hair, "It's been a thousand years, Elijah. It's alright to move on—it's alright to _live_—"

Elijah turned to her, "He is my _brother,_ Liliya. You think that I should forget my loyalty—"

Liliya steadied her hand, bringing it down to the side of Elijah's face, "No, my love, I'm not suggesting that. But, you spent most of your human life watching over your brother, then, when you turned, you spent half of your vampire life doing the same thing. I understand why you did it and I think it noble, but Niklaus has become a _monster_, when you have not. You have always done for others—your father, your mother, your siblings, Niklaus, me—when will you do for yourself? When will _you _be happy?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that perhaps the true reason you haven't acted against Niklaus in the last hundred years, after everything he has done to you and to those around you, is that you are afraid to live outside of your brother's shadow. He has given you a purpose in life _and_ death—the only one you have ever known. Your promise to Mikael proves that. When he is gone, even with your family beside you again, you are afraid of being without him—"

"I am not _afraid _of anything." Elijah countered

"Except being alone." Liliya said finally

Elijah's nostrils flared and he shook his head.

"It's true, my love," Liliya whispered, leaning down to him, taking his face into her hands, "And if you are to _truly _defeat Niklaus, you need to fight this fear—you need to find something to live for other than duty, honor, family and revenge… otherwise, they will all _destroy_ you."

Elijah took a breath and looked at Liliya.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He had always been his brother's mentor in life, then his guardian in death. And after he lost Liliya, he became his brother's shadow for a thousand years, constantly keeping him in check, preventing him from breaking the curse and all along being sucked into Niklaus' world until he was so deep, loyalty would never let him escape and certainly would never let him kill him.

"It's _your _decision," Liliya said, brushing her hand across his forehead, "and no matter what you choose, know that I love you, Elijah and I'll always be here if you need me…"

Elijah watched as she moved in, her eyes boring into his until she leaned in so close that their noses touched.

She closed her eyes and so did he.

"But you have to go back now…" she whispered on his mouth, "You have to go back to Elena."

Then, he felt the softness of her lips as she kissed him.

Elijah jolted awake, taking a deep breath, though his body did not require air.

As he came to, he realized that he was lying in a dark, enclosed space. He placed his hands tentatively out in front of him and soon touched what felt like silk.

His nostrils flared, he knew immediately where he was—a coffin.

He reached down to the front of his chest, where his hand immediately came in contact with a large tear in the front of his suit and the remnants of what felt like dried blood.

So Niklaus _had _daggered him and now—if Liliya had been right in his dream—Damon had removed the dagger.

Elijah was not sure how long it had been or what had happened since the sacrifice and his last run-in with his brother, but he knew that his priorites were to one—get get out of this coffin, two—find Elena and ensure her safety, and three—punch his brother really, _really_ hard.

And of course, depending on when he might actually encounter Niklaus, there may be a reversal to that order.

He was just getting ready to push up the top half of the coffin lid when he picked up a voice coming from outside.

It was that of an unfamiliar young male and he seemed to be talking to someone else in the room who had not yet made their presence known.

"You have your family back…finally," he said, "are you going to open them?"

"Not yet," the second party countered and Elijah immediately straightened.

It was Niklaus.

Elijah heard footsteps as the two men moved toward the opposite end of the room and he took that as his cue and swiftly exited his coffin.

When he emerged, he saw Niklaus turn on the landing to face his young sidekick whom Elijah did not recognize.

"I still have some unfinished business to take care of."

"What business?" the young man asked

Elijah immediately took a sniff of the air—he was _a hybrid._

Soon, the anger swelled up in Elijah so quickly that he was unable to check himself.

So Niklaus was able to fashion himself a hybrid race after all.

God help him if he had harmed Elena to do it…

Before he knew it, Elijah had moved forward with incredible speed and punched his hand through the back of the young man's chest, securing his heart as the hybrid cried out in pain and fell lifeless to the floor.

Elijah tried desperately to calm himself and push all thoughts of Elena to the back of his mind as he beheld his stunned younger brother, looking him over as he still held the bleeding heart of the hybrid abomination in his outstretched hand.

"So, Niklaus…" he said in as even a tone as he could muster, stepping up the stairs over the fallen body.

"Elijah," Niklaus whispered, flinching a little in response to his brother's encroaching proximity

"What'd I miss?" Elijah asked

"You look surprised to see me" Elijah said, wiping his hand on a handkerchief he pulled from the inside of his suit jacket, "So it _wasn't_ you who pulled the dagger from my chest?"

So Liliya had been right. It was Damon Salvatore who had pulled the dagger out.

"You look like you could do with a drink," Niklaus answered nervously, seemingly wishing to avoid the subject of daggers, "and we have a lot to discuss…so, shall we?"

He motioned to a table in the next room, but Elijah had already pounced, sucker punching Niklaus across the jaw and pushing him through the French doors that lead to the parlor just a few feet away, glass and wood smashing everywhere.

Niklaus quickly brought himself up on his hands and knees and faced his older brother with so much of his werewolf rage seeping through that Elijah was surprised he didn't turn at will right then and there.

"Easy! I just finished renovating!" he cried as he charged Elijah, throwing him back into the living room and down onto a small antique table, crushing it to bits.

Elijah stayed down for the moment and eyed Niklaus as he rose to his feet, wiping his mouth and catching his breath.

"You know," Niklaus said "You have every right to be mad at me, but I kept my word—I reunited you with our family."

The words sent a chord of anger through Elijah once more and with the aid of vampire speed, he punched Niklaus again. Niklaus fought back and they locked arms before Elijah flung him back into the room with the other coffins.

Niklaus landed on his feet and before Elijah could stop him, opened one of the coffins and removed the dagger from the chest of one of their brothers.

Elijah reacted quickly, but not quick enough.

And as he moved into the room to strike Niklaus again, Niklaus took his older brother firm in his grip and pinned him on one of the nearby coffins, bringing the silver dagger centimeters away from Elijah's chest.

"Don't make me do this to you again, Elijah" Niklaus said, pushing the point of the dagger closer through the cloth of the suit and into Elijah's skin.

"Use it. I _dare_ you," Elijah said through measured breaths as he glanced briefly over at the figure inside the coffin where Klaus had removed the dagger— it was his younger brother who he had not seen since the Victorian Era, "You'll have Kol to deal with."

This struck a chord with Niklaus and Elijah knew that he had hit him where it hurt. Niklaus would wake Kol at his own peril. Elijah knew how and why Niklaus had daggered their younger brother. He also knew that Niklaus _did not_ want to wake the sibling who had a worse temper than Rebekah…at least not yet.

But, leave it to Niklaus, he wasn't down for long.

He had his own revelation up his sleeve.

"Mikael is dead," Niklaus said, pulling the dagger away from Elijah as he released his grip on his brother, pulling back as Elijah straightened with a look of pure surprise on his face.

Liliya had been right, again.

"What did you say?" Elijah asked in disbelief. After all the centuries Mikael had spent hunting Klaus, Elijah found it hard to believe that Niklaus had beating their father at his own game.

"I killed him with his own weapon. He's gone, Elijah, forever." Niklaus confirmed

Elijah steadied himself and his thoughts immediately turned to his family. Klaus had made many excuses over the centuries for his illusiveness and his unwillingness to answer questions about their mother's death and their father's disappearance. It was really the only leverage he had to keep his siblings loyal to him. When Kol once suggested that they find their father, it was much to Niklaus' chargrin. But, Kol went looking for Mikael anyway, not knowing that Mikael was hunting Klaus and had been for centuries and that Klaus would do anything to keep Mikael from finding him. And, before Elijah could intervene and tell Kol the secret he had been keeping for centuries about his promise to their father, Niklaus tracked Kol and brutally daggered him. Mikael had always been the division in their loyalties.

Now that Mikael was gone, it all seemed pointless.

"Why do our family remain in these coffins?" Elijah asked," Finn for over nine hundred years—Kol, a century?"  
>"Because of Stefan Salvatore," Niklaus replied<p>

Elijah did not see_ that_ answer coming

"He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you don't know about our past, Elijah—about our mother's death—things that I never wanted you to know, but am ready to tell you now."

Niklaus stepped away and moved toward a small side table and Elijah watched as he dipped the silver dagger he had pulled from Kol into a dark, ornate canister that Elijah immediately recognized—it was the canister in which his family had collected the ashes of the white oak they had burned to the ground thousands of years before.

"I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty that you once swore to me…" Klaus said as he moved back toward Elijah and for a moment, Elijah flinched, believing that Niklaus would truly dagger him again.

But Niklaus quickly turned his sites toward the open coffin.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked watching Niklaus move closer to their sleeping brother. He desperately wants to make a move toward Niklaus, but stops himself. He knows that he hasn't fed and is weaker than his brother. If he tries to strike him again, he may loose. Their fight from earlier had already completely exhausted him. It was best to wait, he decided.

So, he watched helpless as Niklaus lowered the dagger into Kol's chest, then turned back to him.

"_Always and forever,_" Niklaus said with a small amount of indignation in his voice as if challenging Elijah to defy him—to be disloyal ever again.

Elijah doesn't say anything in response; he just stares down at his brother as Niklaus moves closer.

"I need you to stand by my side, be my brother, help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again," he said, then reached over and closed Kol's coffin.

But, unbeknownst to Niklaus, the lid had also shut on Elijah's loyalty, right then and there.

Minutes later, Niklaus was leading him on a tour of his newly renovated mansion.

"I had a room built for you. I trust you'll be quite comfortable here," Niklaus said, reaching his arm through the threshold of the upstairs bedroom and flicking on the light.

Elijah took in the lavishly decorated master bedroom for a moment before he walked past his brother into it.

"It has a small blood storage chamber and clothes in the closet," Niklaus said, leaning on the door frame, seemingly pleased with the features he had included, "there is a full service bar with your favorite vintage below and, in case you're feeling _really _crazy…the television rises up from the cedar chest at the end of the bed. There is a button for it near the night stand—"

"You know I don't watch television." Elijah said with a sigh, taking a seat on the edge of the king size bed, testing out it's firmness.

"Well, I thought one of these days you might finally come around to the twenty-first century," Niklaus replied in good humor, "and when you did, I wanted you to do it in style. I spared no expense…it's a plasma. "

But Elijah just raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"_Fine,_" Niklaus sighed in exasperation, pushing off the door frame and walking through the room to the far corner, where he moved the bar aside to reveal a faux wall behind. He pushed on the lower part of the panel to open a large entrance to a walk-in room, nearly fifteen feet of walnut shelves lining the walls on either side, filled to the brim with antique books.

He held his arms out to Elijah and rolled his eyes, "I saved them…alright? _Happy?_"

Elijah quickly stood and crossed the room to his brother, gazing past him into the small library.

"My books…" he smiled

"And they're _all _here so you don't have to take inventory," Niklaus said with a smile as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "because quite frankly, that would just be creepy."

Elijah shook his head as Niklaus passed him and made his way back toward the bedroom door.

"Oh, by the way" Niklaus added, turning back when he reached the threshold, "now that I think about it, I don't think you'll like _any _of the clothes my stylist picked out for you. I'll have one of the girls bring up one of my suits for you to wear until we can get you some new ones."

"Thank You…I guess…" Elijah replied, furrowing his brow

Niklaus' face dropped, "Now, what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means that after a thousand years, you still dress like a womanizing misfit."

"Well, I take that as a compliment from someone who still dresses like he's going to his own funeral." Niklaus shot back

"Touché" Elijah smirked, whipping his right first finger in the air like a sword as he turned back toward his library.

"Goodnight, Elijah" Niklaus said as he closed the door behind him.

About fifteen minutes later, a stunningly beautiful, yet utterly compelled young blonde woman, knocked on Elijah's door. When he opened it, she presented him with the suit Niklaus had promised.

"Thank You," he said, taking the suit from her.

She nodded curtly, then turned on her heel and left.

Well, Niklaus had certainly taken what Elijah had said to heart. The suit was a tailored black number with a matching blue dress shirt and tie and it was probably the most reserved article of clothing in Niklaus' wardrobe.

Elijah smiled to himself.

He shouldn't have chided his brother about his clothing choices—God knows, half a century before, Finn was worse.

But it was the only legitimate jab he could really get in at Niklaus for now and he took it. Hopefully, the jabs wouldn't stay good natured for long. Elijah knew that he needed to form a plan, but first, he needed to change.

He laid the suit out on the bed and began to undress, starting with his jacket.

As he pulled it off and folded it long ways over his arm, a small folded piece of paper fell out of the inside pocket and onto the floor.

Elijah threw the jacket on a nearby chair, then leaned down and picked up the note.

As he unfolded it and read its contents, he took a deep breath.

It was from Damon Salvatore.

He wanted to meet.


	2. Chapter 2

After he changed his suit and fed, it was almost 2 am before Elijah willed himself to rest in one of the large leather arm chairs in his room, reading _Ben Hur.  
><em>By the time dawn approached, he had finished the book, had grabbed his suit jacket and was heading down themain upstairs hall toward the large marble staircase, passing at least five more rooms on the way.

The previous night, Niklaus had taken Elijah up the back stairs and Elijah had missed these bedrooms. As he took a look inside each of them, he noticed that they all seemed to be ornately furnished and uniquely different.

But it wasn't until he came to the last room that his interest was piqued.

Unlike all the other rooms, its door was only slightly ajar and there was no sunlight emanating from it, as if the curtains had been drawn.

Elijah stepped forward through the threshold, cautiously pushing door completely open with his right hand.

As he entered the room, he noticed that it was fairly large like his and ornately decorated, but had little features of its own. There were no leather chairs, no full service bar or walk in library. It was more delicate looking than his room and was painted a soft shade of lilac, with a white canopy bed and a vanity mirror and bureau against the far wall next to a gold upholstered chase lounge with a matching set of chairs.

As guessed, the white Pricilla style curtains over the bay window were drawn.

Elijah opened his senses and looked around, waiting for someone to show themselves, but neither saw nor sensed anyone.

But, then, just as he turned to leave the room, something took hold of him.

He drew a sharp breath as he saw it sitting there on the side table near to the left of the door frame—his mother's necklace.

Elijah took it into his hand immediately and turned back to face the inside of the room.

It all suddenly made sense—the color lilac, the vanity mirror, the canopy bed—this was to be Rebekah's room.

But if the necklace was here, then she had to be too.

She had never taken it off in over a thousand years…

Suddenly, though, Elijah's mind didn't flash to his sister, it flashed to Elena.

To the day he first saw her—the day Rose had summoned him to the abandoned mansion, offering a doppelganger in exchange for clemency for her and Trevor. When he had approached her, drank in her scent and tried to compel her—it was there around her neck—Rebekah's necklace—he had pulled it off with his own hand and tossed it aside like a priceless trinket…

"_What is this vervain doing around your neck?" _

Then to the night in the hallway of the Gilbert home when he shook Elena's hand after Jenna invited him into the house to retrieve some historical research materials…

"_It's a pleasure." _

Finally, to the stand-off at the Gilbert family lake house when Elena stabbed herself with the knife…

"_Give me your word!" _

How did he not see it before that Elena had been wearing it?

His heart dropped as he thought of what holding the necklace in his hand now meant.

Was she safe? Had Klaus done something to her?  
>Elijah closed his fist tighter around the necklace and closed his eyes.<p>

Immediately Elena was there in front of him again, leaning back on the front door of his apartment the night of the ritual, laying a hand on his forearm, looking into his eyes.

"_No. No compulsion. I don't want to forget. It was my choice, Elijah, and I want to remember everything….Please."_

Elijah's mind raced.

Why did he feel he could have compelled her that night?

Then he remembered that when his eyes had roamed over her, her neck had been bare—she wasn't wearing the necklace.

What was it about the necklace that made him see it, but not _see_ it?

He tried desperately to remove Elena from the equation—the important question now was _why _was she wearing it? How had she come by it?

And why was Rebekah not wearing it? He knew that she would never have taken it off of her own accord—she would have died first.

_**Died…**  
><em>

Elijah's eyes widened as he quickly moved to the center of the room with vampire speed and looked around for a moment before it came to him.

He immediately flew to the walk-in closet in the far corner of the room and flung open the doors.

As he stood in the door way, he exhaled and relaxed his hand, letting the necklace fall out of his hand and its chain catch on his fingers as it swung freely down at his side, his eyes beholding the mahogany coffin that he knew held the body of his younger sister.

_**NEW WORLD - 1032 A.D. **_

_Blades clash roughly as Elijah steps back, paying close attention to his footwork as he ducks another swing of his opponent's sword. He gives a thrust of his own blade, but it is blocked and his blade is pushed against him as he leans back, watching as it glides by his face, gleaming in the afternoon sun. _

_For fourteen, he is rather advanced in sword fighting, but that's because he practices constantly—he knew that if it ever came down to natural talent, his opponent would win. _

_He attacks again, but is unsuccessful. _

_There is a loud cry from his opponent as Elijah sidesteps once more and, tucking his sword under his arm, blocks the oncoming advance by ducking behind the trunk of a great white oak tree. _

_He laughs as his opponent's blade makes hard contact with the trunk of the tree, taking off a large strip of bark and sending it showering to the ground._

_When the weapon is pulled back, he feels safe enough to show his face from the other side. _

"_Very good, Rebekah," Elijah smiles, swinging his sword playfully in his hand as he steps out toward his ten year-old sister, her blonde hair windblown and her cheeks red as she holds her sword up at the ready.  
>He turns back toward the white oak, surveying the damage with a raised eyebrow, "But it seems you killed the tree." <em>

"_Well, it's nice to kill something other than dinner," Rebekah smiles back, lowering her sword. _

_Elijah turns his sword in his hand and brings it to the sheath at his side then holds his hand out to his sister and she hands him her sword, hilt first. _

"_Father never likes me handling a blade," she sighs, coming to Elijah's side, "He says that learning the sword is a waste of time for a woman—" _

"_Well, out here, with the way our neighbors are," Elijah said lowering his voice as looked out at some of the villagers going about their daily business, "you should know how to wield a blade. It's a dangerous land and it would not be right to leave you without a way to defend yourself." He brought his hand up to stroke her cheek, "Father need not know of our lessons." _

_After a moment, Elijah lowers his hand and sets off toward the shed to finish his chores, Rebekah close on his heels._

"_But, what if he finds out, Elijah?" she asks as they enter the barn and watches Elijah put away their weapons._

"_He won't. We'll practice only when he is not around—"_

"_What if Niklaus tells him? You know what a horrid traitor he is when it comes to Father's wrath."_

"_We'll practice in the woods near the clearing just to be safe and that way no one will see us, not even Niklaus." _

_Rebekah leaps up on the central post of the shed and twirls down, "And you promise not to go easy on me?" _

_Elijah laughs as he pulls a box of Ferrier tools from a nearby shelf, "I've already promised that I will train you like a man, Rebekah, and I shall…but I have to say that I don't want to end up like that tree!" _

_Rebekah smirks, "Well, then I promise to go easy on you, Brother." _

_Elijah turns, wielding the box heavily in his hands and walks toward his sister, leaning in close to her. _

"_You are stronger than you think Rebekah and I want to help you find that strength and use it," he said in a low voice, then pulling back to face her, "And don't worry about Father or Niklaus, for as long as I am around, you don't have to fear anything or anyone. I will always protect you and if you are ever lost, I will always find you."  
>Rebekah let out a trembled breath, her eyes glistening as she studied her older brother's face. <em>

"_Always and forever?" she asked_

"_You have my word." Elijah nodded with a sweet smile as he moved past her toward the waiting horses in the stable. _

As Elijah opened the lid of Rebekah's coffin and beheld his younger sister for the first time in almost a century, his breath caught.

She lay peacefully with her arms folded across her stomach. She was wearing a tea length formal dress, the color—red—hiding the bloodstains from the dagger protruding from her chest.

Elijah brought his hand up and looked hard at the necklace for a moment, then unclasping the chain, leaned down and placed it back in its rightful spot upon his sister's neck.

When he pulled back, he brought his hand to her left cheek.

"I'm _so sorry_ I had to leave you…" he whispered, "I hope that you can forgive me."

Then with a deep breath and a silent prayer, he brought the hand from her cheek to the silver hilt of the dagger and pulled…

Leaving the mansion to meet Damon had not been easy. Klaus, being his usual paranoid self, had blocked Elijah's path, asking him several questions. But, having lived with his brother for over a thousand years, Elijah knew exactly how to deflect him and in the end, convinced him that he only needed some fresh air and would not be gone for more than an hour or two.

Damon arrived only minutes behind him, walking out into the predetermined location specified in his note—the clearing in Harper's Woods—as he conversed on his cell phone.

Elijah waited patiently with his hands in his pockets as Damon ended the conversation.

"Ahh…makes me nostalgic for the time when Stefan was a bunny snacking pacifist. Anyway, gotta go…more later." Damon said

Elijah smirked as Damon eyed him.

_Bunny snacking pacifist?_

Elijah always did enjoy Damon's sense of humor—it was much like his own. And as he neared, Elijah picked up the remnants of the voice on the other end of the phone.

"_Hey, where are you?" _

It sounded like Alaric Saltzman.

"Tea with an old friend," Damon said curtly, bringing the phone down from his ear and hitting the end button on the touch screen.

"Elijah," he said, placing the phone in his blue jean pocket as he moved closer, "My favorite original…back from the dead. You clean up nice."

Elijah pulled the note from the inside of his jacket, holding it up between his first and second fingers in front of Damon.

"You left something in my jacket pocket," he said

Damon raised an eyebrow and looked down ready with his snappy comeback.

"Dear Elijah," he said in a playful tone, "let's get together about the destruction of your brother. XOXO…"  
>"Damon," Elijah finished with a raised eyebrow, knowing that that was not what the note really said.<br>"Was I right to un-dagger you or are we going to have a problem?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable with his 'favorite original' trying to play along with his little joke.

Elijah tried to put his mind at ease.

"I'm here," he said, shifting his stance and placing his hand in his pockets, "So, let's talk."

"I'll start with an easy question," Damon said, narrowing his eyes

Elijah's mind immediately goes back to the instant that he jumped through the flames and saved his brother, leaving the promise he had made to Damon, Elena, Bonnie and Stefan behind. No doubt Damon's question would be 'why did you betray us and save your brother?' That would be the question he would ask if he were in his shoes.

But, to Elijah's relief, Damon didn't ask that question, he asked something else.

"Any idea what kind of Klaus-killing weapon could be magically sealed inside a mystery coffin?"

Elijah's initial relief at the question turned to sudden intrigue.

"What 'mystery' coffin?" he asked, straightening as he pulled his hands from his pockets while doing a silent audit in his head.  
>When he had awoken and fought Niklaus he had seen two other coffins in the room with him. One, he knew for sure, was Kol. The other had to be Finn, by the simple fact that he had come across Rebekah's coffin later in another room of the house.<p>

His mother and youngest brother, Henrik had been mortal when they died and had been long since buried.

Mikael was a possibility, but if he died the way Niklaus said he did, then the stake carved from the white oak would have consumed his body—there would be no need for a coffin.  
>"Oh, right…" Damon said, looking down, "I forgot that you've been out of the game for a little while, so perhaps I should bring you up to speed. See…here's the thing…a couple of weeks ago, Stefan went all bat-shit crazy on us and stole Klaus' coffins—your siblings—out from under his nose—"<p>

"Why on earth would he be so stupid as to provoke Klaus like that?" Elijah asked, stunned

"_Oh,_ because Stefan's gone off the deep end Elijah…_big time_. After you pulled your little Houdini act on us, it seems that like all noble brothers who despise their less noble brothers, Stefan just couldn't let me die from the werewolf bite that I suffered trying to save Tyler Lockwood and Caroline from being the sacrificial tid-bits in Klaus' ritual—"

"_Wait_" Elijah said, holding up his hands and shaking his head, "You were _bitten _by a werewolf and you are still standing here—"

"Oh, yeah…" Damon smiled, "It gets better. Stefan went to Klaus and traded his services for Klaus' help in curing me. It seems that Mother Nature gave your baby bro a little 'cure all' when it comes to werewolf bites—his blood."  
>"And exactly what kind of 'services' did Stefan trade?"<br>"Well, it seems Klaus and Stefan knew each other way back when—had a little 'Ripper' fun—if you know what I mean…" Damon said raising an eyebrow

Elijah nodded solemnly.  
>He had heard of Stefan Salvatore in the late 1800's, back when he was known through supernatural circles by the name 'Ripper'. He was considered a master of death, destruction and mayhem. He loved the hunt and the kill and took special pleasure in torturing his prey. Niklaus seemed to idolize him and loved reading about his trail of bodies in the local newpapers, but Elijah had no idea that Stefan had known or spent time with Niklaus.<p>

However, Niklaus had daggered him sometime around 1910 and did not awaken him until 1957, so it's very possible.

Spending time with Stefan Salvatore in his 'Ripper' days would certainly explain why Niklaus seemed to have lost all disregard for human life in the last century.

"Klaus doesn't do well with being alone." Elijah sighed

"Well, he sure got Stefan off the wagon—drinking human blood—killing—but, granted he was compelled most of the time. They left town, caused a little mayhem, tried to sire some hybrids and failed, woke up your sister 'Barbie Klaus' and returned to Mystic Falls to use Elena as a hybrid blood bank."  
>Elijah straightened at Elena's name, "Elena? Why—"<p>

"Well, it seems that Mama Original thought her little riddle about killing the doppelganger in the ritual would be unsolvable. Well, Klaus _solved it_. It seems that Elena's blood is not only the key to breaking the hybrid curse, it's the also only way that Klaus can sire his hybrid army."

"A hybrid _army_?"

"Oh, yeah. The place has been crawling with the little buggers for weeks."  
>Elijah's thoughts immediately went back to the young man who's chest he had punched his hand through back at the mansion. There had only been <em>one<em> of him—he had not seen any more.

"Well, where are they now?"

"It seems that when Stefan went all 'Coo Koo's Nest' and turned off his humanity, turning villain and trying to beat Klaus at his own game—which believe me, has been _horribly_ painful to watch—one of his conditions to getting the coffins back was to make the little lap dogs leave town so that Klaus would be all alone again and unprotected."

Elijah nodded, "I see."  
>There was a silence as Elijah absorbed this information.<p>

Then Damon, being Damon, added on to the report.

"Oh, by the way…" he said in a low voice, sucking in a breath behind his teeth, "sorry about your Dad, man."

Elijah raised an eyebrow_. _

"Yeah…" Damon continued, "and, uh, Katherine is sort of on our team now, so we _kind of_ have to place nice with her. So that means no Elijah-esque compelling or torture, okay?"

"Alright…" Elijah sighed, "Anything else?"

"I _think_ that's about it." Damon confirmed

Elijah took a deep breath, finally asked what he had been waiting to ask from the very beginning, "And how is Elena?"

Damon studied Elijah for a moment, then answered, "Physically, she's fine. Human—normal. It seems Klaus won't harm her because he now knows that he needs her alive to sire his hybrids. But, let's just say that psychologically and emotionally—it's been a roller coaster. Klaus is still using her as bait for Stefan's self-destruction and keeps going after those she loves when he needs to prove a point."

"I understand how she feels," Elijah sighed, "Klaus is a master manipulator, especially when it comes to taking away what you love most."

"So are you _ever_ going to tell me what he took away from you?" Damon asked suddenly

"No." Elijah said sternly

"Okay_…_" Damon said

"But I _will_ tell you what I think his next move is going to be." Elijah smirked

When Elijah returned to the mansion all was quiet.

At first, he thought Niklaus had gone out, but as he walked across the marble entryway and started up the grand staircase, a voice called to him from inside the front parlor.

"There you are! It's been almost three hours, Elijah, I was beginning to think that you had met a girl," Niklaus smirked as he walked through the threshold and watched Elijah step back down the stairs.

"I went hunting." Elijah retorted in good humor, trying to deflect Klaus as usual.

His meeting with Damon had taken longer than anticipated.

"Kill any bunnies?" Niklaus joked

"I just needed to stretch my legs."

Niklaus nodded, "Well, when you get a chance, come down to my study. There are a few things I want to go over with you tonight before our guests arrive."

"Guests?"

"Oh, yes. It seems Stefan Salvatore and his ass of a brother are joining us—they just sent over a little message saying that they spoke to you and now want to negotiate some kind of truce?"

"I see. I apologize for keeping it from you, Brother. Damon left a note in my jacket pocket, requesting a meeting. I found it after I woke. I met with him and we spoke. I suggested a meeting. A truce would be beneficial for all."

Wow, when Elijah had suggested they sit down with Klaus, he didn't expect Damon to work so fast or that he would tell his psychotic brother that it was_ him_ that suggested it. Nice one, Salvatore.

"So, Damon pulled out your dagger," Klaus smirked, "Well played..."

Elijah narrowed his eyes as he watched the wheels in his brother's head work.

"Well, in any case, I want to go over what we are going to say and do—planning for all possible contingencies—because if we are negotiating a truce, I still want to make sure that _I _get what _I _want." Niklaus said sternly, stepping forward and placing a hand on his older brother's chest, "Because we both know that it's not pretty when I don't get what I want."

_Even out of a fake truce_? Elijah thought, but said, "Well, I'm going to take my jacket off, I'll be down in a few minutes. Fix me a bourbon will you?"

Niklaus smirked and nodded, pulling his hand back as he watched Elijah turned and head up the staircase.

When Elijah made it to the upstairs hallway, he looked back down and saw that Niklaus had disappeared back into the front parlor.

He quickly walked down the hall and entered Rebekah's room.

It was quiet with no sign anyone had been there, but the curtains were pulled back, the mid-day sun shining through, and when Elijah entered the walk-in closet, he saw the coffin lids were both open and the coffin empty.

After a moment, Elijah turned back and scanned the room and immediately saw her figure standing in the shadows of the far corner near the window.

Slowly, she stepped out into the sunlight, lowering the dagger she had raised, ready to defend herself like her brother had taught her over a thousand years earlier.

A look of surprise and awe crossed her face as she let the dagger fall from her hand onto the hardwood floor.

"Rebekah…" Elijah smiled

_**London—1910**_

"_Rebekah!"_

_Rebekah bursts through the French doors and into the parlor of their three story rented walk-up on Piccadilly Street. _

"_Rebekah, you don't walk away when I'm talking to you!" Niklaus yells as he walks through the threshold after her, dressed in evening wear—a black tux with a white shirt and bowtie. _

_Seeing that there is nowhere to run, Rebekah turns and faces him with tear-stained eyes. _

"_What the hell is this?" Niklaus asks, holding a folded note up in his hand,"Hmmm?" _

_Rebekah tries to will herself to speak, but is too frightened. _

"_I can't hear you!" Niklaus screams at his sister, stepping down onto one of the parlor steps. _

_Rebekah closes her eyes, her face starting to crumble. _

"_What is happening?" Elijah asks, appearing in the threshold, holding a book in his hand at his side as he looks from his frightened sister to his angry brother, "I could hear this racket all the way upstairs." _

_Niklaus turns back to face Elijah and holds the note out to him. _

"_I came home tonight and found this note in her room! It seems that our sister was going to leave us, Elijah. She wants to be free. Naturally, I went after her and brought her home…" _

_Niklaus turns back to look at Rebekah, "Where she belongs!" _

_Elijah looks past Klaus to Rebekah, whose face is flushed with both embarrassment and anger as she looks away from them both._

_Elijah tucks the book under his arm and takes the note in his hands. _

_Niklaus eyes him as he waits for Elijah to read it, but he does no such thing. _

_Looking directly at Rebekah, Elijah tears the note into shreds in its folded state. _

"_She is free to make her own decisions, Niklaus, and has been for quite some time" Elijah says sternly, still looking at Rebekah, who immediately focuses her eyes on her older brother, smiling in grateful appreciation. He then looks to Niklaus as his brother's face flushes with rage, "You have no right to force her to stay with us like some kind of prisoner. If she wishes to leave, then she should be free to leave." _

"_That is NOT how it works!" Niklaus screams, stepping closer to Elijah, "You both swore an oath of loyalty to me! 'Always and Forever'! Does that mean NOTHING to you? And Mikael is still out there—"_

"_Hunting YOU!" Elijah retorts _

"_But, if he finds me, he finds all of us!" _

"_I believe Rebekah can handle herself, Niklaus, and sometimes always is NOT forever." Elijah says angrily, closing the space between them "If she wants to go, then let…her…go." _

"_I would rather see her daggered." Niklaus says venomously, then, with the aid of vampire speed, moved quickly to a wall curio cabinet, pulled it open and retrieved something from it—all in the blink of an eye. _

_In a matter of seconds, Niklaus is at Rebekah's side, lunging at her with an engraved silver dagger. _

_But, Niklaus' first mistake was attacking her from the front when her guard was up, for years of training under Elijah proved their worth and Rebekah blocked Niklaus' thrust, grabbing him by the wrist and wringing the dagger free from his grasp, then flinging him back, moving forward and slashing at him with the dagger as he ducked and evaded her advances. When he thought he had the advantage, he stepped forward to grab the dagger from her, but she quickly used her vampire speed to move behind him and stab him through with it under his left shoulder blade _

_Niklaus cries in pain and Elijah steps forward. _

_Part of him wants to help Niklaus, but the other part was glad that Rebekah had finally had the strength and gumption to do what none of them could do for nine hundred years. _

_Both siblings watch in stunned awe as Niklaus falls forward on his hands and knees, doubling over on the Oriental rug. _

_He is clearly in pain, but to their surprise, nothing else happens. The dagger had not worked on him. _

_Rebekah looks back over her shoulder to share a look with Elijah. But, as she does, Niklaus rises quickly to his feet, removing the dagger from his back, and moving toward his sister. _

"_Rebekah!" Elijah cries_

_Rebekah turns her head back just in time to see Niklaus lunge for her once again, but seemingly in an instant, a tall figure blocks her view, stepping between her and Niklaus. _

_It was Elijah. _

"_No!" Rebekah cries as Niklaus daggers their older brother through the heart and Elijah falls back into her arms, hyperventilating for a few moments as his eyes glaze over and his skin turns silver-gray and hard as rock. _

_Niklaus steps back in stunned disbelief as Rebekah moves them to the floor, cradling Elijah in her arms. _

"_Elijah…No…" she sobs softly, tears falling in streams from her eyes as she lowers her cheek to rest on her brother's._

_Niklaus looks down to the blood stain seeping through his white dress shirt, then flaring his nostrils, looks up and moves stealthily toward his sister. _

_Rebekah flinches, clutching Elijah's body tighter as she feels her brother loom over her. _

_A moment later, she looks up with frightened eyes as Niklaus kneels beside her. _

"_Let this be a lesson to you, little sister," he says in a low voice, leaning in closer to her, "That disloyalty will not be tolerated. Elijah has already paid for his and mark my words, if you ever cross me or raise your hand to me again, you will pay for yours. Do you understand?" _

_Rebekah nods, looking away, her lip trembling._

_Niklaus takes her chin in his hand and turns her head up to face him. _

"_And this is the last time you EVER try to leave this family." _

_Rebekah's nostrils flare, her eyes reflecting her indignation as she nods again. _

"_Good." Niklaus says, releasing her from his grip as he pulls himself to his feet, "Now, I'm going to turn in for the night. If you need me, I'll be in my room. And I trust that you will be in yours tomorrow when I come for you."_

_Rebekah lets out a trembled breath and watches her brother untie is bowtie as he moves toward the threshold. _

_When he reaches the threshold he turns back, pulling his tie from his collar. _

"_And don't even think of pulling that dagger out," he says in a harsh tone, then turns on his heel and exits the room, leaving Rebekah more alone than ever. _

"Elijah…" Rebekah whispered, her eyes glistening as she beheld her older brother for the first time in over a century.

Elijah's face crumbled slightly as he stepped forward, holding his hand out to her.

"Tilgi meg, søster…" he said in low voice.

In a flash, she immediately moved to his side and flung herself into his arms.

"Forgive you for _what_?" she whispered, her voice trembling as she sobbed into his shoulder as Elijah wrapped his arm around her torso and cradled her gently to him, closing his eyes in relief.

"I should never have left you alone," he said softly, then after a moment's pause, added, "I've _missed you_."

"I've missed you, too." Rebekah smiled against his shoulder then suddenly pulled back, her eyes searching his, "Where is Niklaus? The last I knew Elena, Damon and Mikael were forming a plan to kill him—"

"They found Mikael?" Elijah asked, stepping back

"Yes. It seems Katerina knew about the white oak dagger and about Mikael hunting Nik. They wanted to kill him, but they wanted to keep Elena's witch friend from harming herself, so they went looking for Mikael to help them."

"But, how did they know where to find him? I, myself, have not seen or spoken to him in—"

Immediately, he stopped and silently cursed himself as Rebekah eyed him.

"You _knew_, didn't you?" she breathed in disbelief

"Rebekah—"

"All this time, you _knew_ that our father was innocent and that Niklaus killed our mother? You knew why he really left!" she cried

"Yes." Elijah lamented

"Why didn't you tell us? We deserved the _truth_, Elijah!"

"Because you were safer if you believed the lie—safe from what Niklaus was capable of if he knew you, Finn and Kol had discovered the truth."  
>Rebekah shook her head in shock as Elijah moved to her.<p>

"I'm sorry I kept this from you and the others—I'm sorry you found out the way you did—"

"A cave drawing, Elijah," Rebekah interrupted, her voice seething with soft anger, "That's how I found out—from a _cave drawing_!"

"I'm _sorry_," Elijah said, taking Rebekah's face in his hands, "I'm _so_ sorry. I've wanted to tell you so many times—all those years when we fought amongst ourselves, when Niklaus divided us—but I made a _promise_ to Mikael, I gave him my word, Rebekah. _He_ was the one who asked me to return home and to watch over you and make sure Niklaus did not break the curse. He didn't wish me to tell you the truth—to protect you from Niklaus until he could eventually make his move and avenge our mother's death."

Elijah watched as Rebekah's anger began to dissipate and she turned her head out of his grasp and walked toward the canopy bed.

"So _did he_? Avenge her death?" Rebekah asked softly

Elijah took a breath, "Apparently, Mikael is dead."

Rebekah closed her eyes and sighed, taking a seat on the corner of the white comforter.

"Niklaus says that he killed him with the white oak dagger."

Rebekah opened her eyes and Elijah was surprise to see a tear roll down her cheek, "I find that hard to believe."

"So do I, but I just met with Damon and he confirmed it. He's gone, Rebekah."

"So the plan failed. Niklaus is still free, still un-checked, and still un-killable, and Elena daggered me for nothing."

"_Elena_ daggered you?" Elijah straightened

"I can't say I blame her, even though I was the one who helped them lure Nik back into town after he left with Stefan. With my loyalties being divided, she couldn't chance that I would betray them, so, she daggered me right before the Homecoming dance after she gave me back Mother's necklace," she said, nervously bringing her hand to her neck and small silver talisman.

After a moment, she spoke again, lowering her hand.

"You, know, I was there when he woke up-I saw him-Mikael...I mean," she said, the emotion cracking in her voice as she looked down to her hands folded in her lap, "I—well—I have to say that I was a typical rebellious daughter. But, I was angry with him, Elijah, I was _so_ angry."

Elijah immediately moved to her side, taking a seat beside her on the bed and placing an arm around her shoulders as she leaned on him and sobbed.

"I said awful things I regret. Nik trained me for years to hate him and true to form, even after I learned the truth, when I finally came face to face with him after all these years, I still _hated _him, Elijah. I told him it was his fault that our family was destroyed—that Nik was the way he was—that we were vampires—it all just came _pouring_ out. I know what I said was the truth, but I shouldn't have said it. He didn't deserve that. I think, more than anything, I just was angry at him for leaving us."

"Me, too," Elijah said, kissing her hair, "That's why I'm angry at myself for leaving _you_."

Rebekah lifted her head off his shoulder and wiped under her eyes.

"Don't be. You know that Nik still daggered me, albeit a decade later, but, I never forgot what you did for me that night—what you have _always_ done for me. You're the only whose word I could ever trust, Elijah."

"Still, I should have awoken you when I returned in '57—I guess just thought you were safer in that coffin."

Rebekah smiled, "Oh yeah, by the way, I've been meaning to _Thank you _for that…I felt _very_ rested when I woke up."

Elijah smirked and Rebekah gave him a little hug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Elijah. You've always taken good care of us. Father would have been proud of you."

Elijah looked over his sister's face with soft eyes, "And for what it's worth, Mikael had to have known that after a thousand years at Niklaus' side, all our reasoning would be clouded. I'm sure deep down he knew what you really felt."

Rebekah nodded, "I hope so."

After a few moments of silence, Rebekah stood, smoothing out the front of her dress before turning back to her brother.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked, "I assume you've got _something _up your sleeve when it comes to Nik."

Elijah smiled as he stood and nodded, "Something…_epic_."


	3. Chapter 3

A few minutes later, Elijah handed Rebekah his suit jacket and they shared a smile as he left her in her room and headed down the hallway toward the main staircase.

When he descended, he passed through the front parlor and into Niklaus' private study.

Klaus was seated in his office chair, with his feet up on his desk playing solitaire on his laptop.

Elijah wasn't sure why, but somehow found this extremely amusing.

After a moment of silently laughter to himself, he spoke.

"So, what did you wish to speak about?" Elijah asked as he approached the desk.

Niklaus brought his legs down and turned his chair away from his computer to face his brother with a broad smile.

"Many things… but first, your drink is on the bar," Niklaus nodded toward the opposite wall and the full bar along it.

Sure enough a bourbon neat sat in a tumbler on the bar counter.

Elijah walked over and picked up the bourbon and lifted it in a toast to his brother before taking a drink.

Niklaus stood and rounded the desk, taking a seat on the front, folding his hands in his lap as he eyed his brother.

"Do you remember when we first started searching for the moonstone and for Liliya's doppelganger?" he asked

Elijah straightened at Liliya's name, a sudden flash of anger coming over his face that his brother dare mention her, but he tried his best to hide it by twirling his tumbler in his hand.

"Yes," he said in a low voice, "we made the scrolls—the Aztec drawings."  
>"Ahh…some of your finest work…and <em>mine<em>, if I do say so." Klaus mused  
>Elijah nodded<p>

The rouse _was_ quite good.

Centuries before, when Niklaus decided to try to break the hybrid curse his mother and the witch Ayanna had placed on him, Elijah came up with the idea that they should invent ancient stories using his writing talents for the tales and Niklaus' artistic ability for the drawings.

They made scrolls and cave drawings—anything they could come up with in several different languages and cultures, because, as Elijah reasoned to Niklaus, the best way to find a doppelganger or to get your hands on some long lost moonstone, was to have every member of a warring species looking for it.

And the "Curse of the Sun and The Moon" was born.

It worked, too. Niklaus was satisfied knowing that both vampires and werewolves were looking for both and for a while, Elijah could rest easy knowing that his promise to his father was safe and that his plan to keep Niklaus from breaking the curse was still on track.

Of course, unbeknownst to Niklaus, Elijah possessed the moonstone and had for centuries since his mother's death, so he knew that it was safe and out of his brother's hands as long as he needed it to be. Elijah reasoned that if he had to eventually give his brother the moonstone to appease him, he would do it and say that someone else found it—but only because he knew that Niklaus would never find Liliya's doppelganger.

She simply did not exist.

Katerina, however, changed all of that—he had not seen her coming.

And when Trevor first told him of her existence, Elijah couldn't make himself believe it.

How could it be? His mother and the other witches had specifically chosen Liliya because she had been the last of her bloodline.

Niklaus' curse had been created on the condition that it could only be broken by a doppelganger that the servants of nature felt sure would never exist once they killed her.

Elijah felt angry at first, knowing that a doppelganger really _did_ exist.

It felt like Liliya died for nothing—that she had sacrificed herself for nothing.  
>But, then he <em>saw <em>Katerina…

"Elijah?" Niklaus asked, trying to meet his brother's gaze and Elijah immediately realized he must have been in some kind of trance.

"I'm sorry…" Elijah said, shaking his head, "What did you say?"  
>"I was saying that the scrolls regarding 'The Curse of the Sun and The Moon' were some of our best work and we should replicate it tonight at dinner."<br>"What do you mean?" Elijah's eyes narrowed

Niklaus stood up from his desk and walked toward his brother

"I _mean_ that I think we should enlighten the Salvatore Brothers—give them a story they can chew on. One that will ensure that _I _get what _I want_," Niklaus said, moving closer, eying his brother. "I need you to come up with a brilliant tale and I will follow along."

Elijah lowered his drink and set it down on the bar, "And what kind of tale do you wish me to tell? What is it that you _want_ out of all of this?"

Niklaus smiled and moved in closer to his brother.

"I want Elena," he whispered

Elijah and Niklaus discussed the plot of their story for nearly an hour before Niklaus looked at the time and excused himself to change for the dinner party.

When he did, Elijah knew what he had to do.

It was clear that Elena was in danger.

Niklaus would never let her have a normal life as long as she was the key to him being able to sire more hybrids.

Damon had assured Elijah that Bonnie and her mother would get the 'mystery' coffin open and release the weapon inside it—they just needed a little time—hence the invented "truce dinner party".

But, on hearing what Niklaus had planned for Elena and what he was willing to say and do to make sure that it happened, Elijah wasn't taking any chances.

He needed insurance. If Damon were here, he would agree.

So, when he was sure that Niklaus had retired to his bedroom upstairs, Elijah made his way back through to the front parlor.

He stepped down the stairs into the room and was immediately standing at the foot of Finn and Kol's coffins.

He thought for a moment then nodded to himself. It was crazy and a bit drastic, yes, but if it worked the way he had planned, it would be just the insurance he needed to keep Niklaus in check if Damon's plan to didn't go through.

Like he told Stefan on the night of the ritual, he _always _had a back-up plan.

In one fluid motion Elijah stepped between the two coffins, and with each hand, flipped open the top half of the lid.

He then simultaneously grabbed the hilts of the silver daggers in each of his younger brothers' chests and pulled…

When the door bell rang at 7pm, Elijah looked the sound emanating into the upstairs hallway, before turning back to Rebekah, who handed him his suit jacket.

"You know the plan," he said, stroking her cheek, "Don't move until I come and get you."  
>Rebekah nodded, taking her brother's hand in hers on the side of her face.<p>

Elijah released his hold on her and exited through the bedroom door.

Moments later, Elijah threw on his jacket and with vampire speed descended the stairs and opened the front door.

"Niklaus, our guests have arrived."

He stepped back, turning to the back parlor, where Niklaus had suddenly appeared and watched the Salvatore brothers enter.

"Damon, Stefan, Elijah tells me you seek an audience. _Very bold_. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men. Shall we?" Niklaus said, eying their guest, before gesturing to the dining table in the center of the room.

When Elijah saw the indignant look on Stefan's face, he moved forward, hoping the brothers would follow.  
>"It's better to indulge him," he encouraged<p>

"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus." Stefan said finally stepping down the stairs, "in fact, I didn't want to come here at all." He then turned to Damon, "But I was told I _had to_ because you would hear us out."

Klaus chuckled.

"Well we can sit and eat," he said rounding the table to his chair and sitting down, "or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours."

_**Nice, Niklaus. **_Elijah scoffed in his head and rolled his eyes as he watched Damon's look of nausea and Stefan's cool indifference. He must have been use to Niklaus' threats by now.

Despite the beginning hostility, when the meal was served and the wine was poured by the compelled young women Niklaus insisted on keeping at the mansion, the dinner seemed to become quite amicable.

That is, until Niklaus noticed that Stefan was not eating.

Elijah took a bite of his roast beef and eyed the youngest Salvatore.

When a vampire gives themself entirely over to their cravings, they usually don't eat human food—it curbs their appetite for human blood.

If Damon was right and Stefan was 'off the wagon', this was a sure sign that 'The Ripper' was back.

"You've lost your appetite," Niklaus finally observed out loud

Stefan just raised an eyebrow and left his fork untouched.

"Eat," Damon interjected, "I thought we were going to leave the 'Grumpy Stefan' at home."  
>Elijah tried hard to conceal his smile.<p>

If Damon though _his_ younger brother was grumpy, he should try living for a thousand years with _his_ younger brother.

Finally Stefan smirked and sat forward, taking up his cutlery.

"That's the spirit," Niklaus said, then looked around the table, "isn't this nice? The four of us dining together? Such a treat."

He then looks directly at Damon, "Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?"

"Well, I knew how he felt about you, so I figured, the more… the _merrier_," Damon said cockily as he took a bite of his dinner and winked at Elijah.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our quarrels over the centuries, but we always make it through." Niklaus countered

"Kind of like, you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan interjected taking a sip of his wine, "Where is she, by the way? The last I checked, she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows that I killed our mother, I've already come clean… to Elijah." Niklaus said, turning to his brother.

Elijah straightened and tried to keep his face placid.  
>Niklaus had <em>never<em> 'come clean' to him about their mother's death, not in a thousand years. When they had fought the previous night, Niklaus had alluded to the fact that he had something to tell him about her. But, then again, Elijah had known since the _beginning_ that Niklaus killed their mother. His father had told him. It was a heavy burden, one that he had promised never to share with their siblings to keep them safe.

Niklaus was flattering himself now and it took all the strength Elijah had to not ruin his brother's moment.

"Hey Stef, remember when you killed Dad? You might want to dial down the judgment until desert." Damon said with raised eyebrows, then took a drink from his glass

"We're here to make a deal, Damon," Stefan said eying Klaus, "it doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us…pace yourself." Damon answered

When they reached the third course, Niklaus gave Elijah the signal and Elijah took a breath.  
>He did not wish to do this, but it seemed he had no choice in the matter as long as Niklaus was calling the shots at the table.<p>

"So, Stefan," he said, folding his hands on the table and manufacturing a smile, "Where is the lovely Elena tonight?"

"I don't know," Stefan shrugged, "ask Damon."

Klaus laughed and Elijah mocked ignorance.

"I'm sorry," Klaus chuckled, turning toward his brother, "You missed so much. Uh…trouble in paradise."

Elijah turns back to Damon then looks to Stefan, intrigued.

From the Salvatore brother's facial reactions, it seemed to be true.

"One more word about Elena," Stefan threatened in a low voice, looking at the two of them, "and uh… this dinner is over."

"You know what," Damon interjected, "it's probably best just to leave Elena in the 'Do Not Discuss' pile."

"You're probably right…" Niklaus said, taking another bite  
>"Yeah." Damon added<p>

"It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelganger is still _so strong_," Niklaus said, turning to his older brother, "What do you say brother, should we tell them about Tatia?"  
>Elijah faked nervousness, moving his napkin off of his lap and spreading it out on the table, "Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?"<br>"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Klaus suggested

"We're not going anywhere Elijah," Damon said, raising his glass, "Please…_do tell_."  
><em><strong>It's time<strong>_. Elijah thought to himself, _**make it good.**_

Suddenly it came pouring out of him and he wasn't sure where it really came from—Liliya—Katerina? Maybe both…with a little flair.

"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty..." _**Liliya**_

"Every boy of age desired to be her suitor even though she had had a child by another man…"  
><em><strong>Katerina<strong>_

"And none loved her more than Niklaus." He finished, looking over to his brother, seemingly for his approval to continue.

Perhaps it was him simply participating or perhaps he was just trying to be cruel, when Niklaus threw back his head dramatically and added, "No… I would say that there was one who loved her at least as much."

He then eyed Elijah, who found it hard to hide his grief as he looked down to his folded hands.

_**Bastard,**_he thought

"Wait a minute," Stefan interceded, "So you both loved the same…girl?"

He then smiled devilishly

Elijah smiled and tried to play along, continuing the rouse, but struggling to keep up face. There had never been any contest when it came to Liliya's affections. Niklaus had pursued Liliya once, when they were teenagers, not because he loved her, but because he just wanted to take something away from Elijah. In the end, however, he failed. Liliya's heart had always been Elijah's and in the end she chose him. They were bethrothed and three months later his family took and sacrificed her in the ritual that bound his brother's werewolf curse forever.

But he couldn't say that.

"Our mother was a very powerful witch, she sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she _took her."_

Niklaus' face dropped at this and he looked down at his wine glass.

_**Is that Guilt? Does he remember? **_Elijah thought, catching a glimpse of his brother out of the corner of his eye.

Surely Niklaus knew what he did—he was in transition, but he surely remembered feeding off of his brother's fiancé?

Images from that night quickly flashed through Elijah's mind  
><em>Kissing Liliya for the last time…<em>

_Being tied to the tree and helpless as the witches took her from him to perform the ritual that would bind Niklaus' werewolf side…_

_Watching as Niklaus, who the witches had starved for days, stumbled out into the darkness of the full moon…_

_His father's voice yelling for Finn and Kol to hold Elijah as he desperately tried to free himself from his bonds to get to her…_

_Seeing Niklaus, in transition, grabbing hold of her and drinking her blood…_

After a moment of reverence, Niklaus looked up to Elijah as he continued the story, albeit it was almost an insult to the true one.

"We would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed on the night we became vampires," Elijah said, unsure how long he could keep up the charade. He then took a drink and looked back to Niklaus who forced a smile. "Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I grew _estranged._ Harsh words were spoken…we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?" he said, looking to Niklaus, again, for prompting.

"But, in the end," Niklaus said, sitting forward and eying the Salvatore brothers, "we recognized the sacred bond of family."

"Family above all," Elijah said, grabbing his glass and raising a toast to his brother with a fake smile.

If he was going to finish, he was going to do it with flare.

Niklaus seemed impressed.

"Family above all," he smirked as he clinked his glass with Elijah

Elijah watched as Damon turned to Stefan and Stefan returned the look.

Clearly Niklaus had seen something Elijah hadn't. That they were fighting over the same girl and if Niklaus was smart, he was going to turn them against each other or make them see that it was best that they let her go… if they truly loved her.

It was a brilliant ploy, but it also made Elijah nauseous.

Niklaus enjoyed playing with people's lives.

He always had. It was a defense mechanism.

There was silence through most of the fourth course and when it was cleared, Elijah saw Damon looking down at his cell phone.

"So," he opened the conversation again, as one of the compelled women poured wine into his glass, "why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal."  
>"Well, that's very simple," Damon said, looking up, "Klaus gets his coffin back, and in exchange, he and the original extended family…leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan and Elena live happily ever after…no grudges."<br>_**Elena safe and living happily ever after**_…

Elijah's heart agreed.

"Deal sounds fair, brother," he said, turning to Niklaus

But, Niklaus wasn't having it.

"I don't think you understand," he said, "Elena's doppelganger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me." He then took a breath and sat forward, eyeing Stefan sternly, "I will _never_ leave her behind."

Stefan stared defiantly back at Klaus for a few moments before Klaus stood and pushed away from the table, taking his glass with him.

"But say I do leave her here, under your protection…what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or _worse,_ how long before she dies, caught between your feuding. You see, each one of you _truly believes_ you are the one that can protect her and that is simply a delusion. Gentleman, the worse thing for Elena Gilbert is…the two of you."

Elijah watched Damon the entire time. He seemed to be the brother who seemed to be affected most by what Klaus was saying.

"I'm going to get some air." He said, looking to Elijah. And Elijah wasn't sure by the paleness that suddenly came over the young vampire, if he really needed air or if it was a signal to talk to Elijah in private.

Either way Damon left the table and Elijah decided to follow.

"Let me deal with it…" he said in a low voice to Niklaus as he himself left the table.


	4. Chapter 4

Elijah followed Damon through the foyer and toward the front parlor.

When he reached the threshold, he saw Damon standing just inside the doorway, looking down at his phone again.

"_Damn it_…" he muttered before putting the device back in his pocket and looking up to Elijah, "We've got a problem. Bonnie and Abby haven't gotten the lock-box open yet and I don't think they are going to anytime soon."  
>"Well, let's not panic. We've still got until dessert…" Elijah said, trailing off, his face suddenly going placid and his eyes focusing on something behind Damon.<p>

"Elijah, I hate to burst your bubble, but if things keep going the way they are going, Klaus is going to _kill _Stefan and _he's _going to be our dessert. It looks like we are going to need a Plan B. I was thinking—"

But, suddenly, Damon realized that Elijah seemed to no longer be following the conversation.

"Elijah?" Damon asked as he narrowed his eyes and waved a hand in front of Elijah's face. He then snapped his fingers, but the original quickly grabbed hold of Damon's arm and lowered it.

"I'm one step ahead of you, Mr. Salvatore," Elijah said

And it was then that Damon followed Elijah's gaze and turned around.

When he did, he immediately saw two figures—men dressed in two different styles of period clothing—each standing at the head of their empty coffins like soldiers waiting for their orders.

"Damon, I would like you to meet my younger brothers," Elijah said with a smile, stepping forward and gesturing from what Damon would describe as a 15th century pirate, "Finn…" then to a young man in his early twenties dressed in casual clothing from the Victorian Era, "and Kol."

Damon studied two men for a moment, paying particular attention to the large blood stains on their shirts.

They had been daggered.

"Oh," Damon smirked, looking to Elijah as he slowly began to realize what the Original had done, "I _like_ thisPlan B."

"I thought you might." Elijah replied then turned to his brothers, "Finn Rebekka ... hun vil forklare alt."

Finn stepped forward, placing a hand on Elijah's shoulder, then nodded back to Kol and they took off with vampire speed.

"What do you say Klaus?" Damon asked as he re-entered the room, a few minutes later, Elijah behind him, "It's time you put something on the table. We've made our offer and now you counter."

Elijah stood beside Niklaus as his brother took a seat in a chair at the dining room table, deep in thought.

After a moment, he spoke.

"I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot and to fall in love with a human," he smirked, turning to Elijah, "maybe that nice football player?"

"Matt Donavan?" Damon asked, sharing a look with Stefan, before turning back to Klaus, "Really?"

"Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life and pop out a perfect family."  
>"And continue the Petrova bloodline," Stefan smiled, catching on to the rouse, "Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelganger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"<p>

Klaus sat back in his chair, "Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life—you know it's what's best for her. So what do you say, Stefan? Do we have a deal?"

Elijah watched as Klaus removed himself from his chair and crossed the room to meet Stefan near the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked his brother in a low voice as Stefan passed behind him.

Elijah knew his own brother thought he was playing the smart card, making the deal with the brother who currently had the least amount of investment in Elena's future.

But, he was wrong.

Stefan stepped forward and smiled as he took Klaus' hand.

And when Klaus smiled back, Stefan leaned forward.

"Nice try, Klaus," Stefan said, "but no deal."

Then it happened.  
>Before Elijah could move forward and stop him, Niklaus had broken Stefan's arm, then snapped his knee, forcing him to the ground. He then leaned him forward placing Stefan's hand in the flames of the fireplace.<p>

Damon moved forward to help his brother, but Elijah stopped him.  
>Grabbing him with vampire speed and throwing him up against a nearby wall.<p>

"What are you doing?" Damon asked under Elijah's grasp.  
><em><strong>Saving your life, you idiot<strong>_, Elijah thought, _**and showing loyalty to my own brother so that he doesn't find out our plan**_.  
>Stefan screamed louder as the flames burned his flesh, the smell causing Elijah and Damon to turn back.<p>

Elijah released his grip and Damon stepped forward.

"Stop!" he yelled

"Now bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Klaus said sternly to Damon, still holding Stefan in his grasp.

"I'll get it." Damon replied angrily, eyeing his younger brother, still writhing in pain on his knees near the fireplace.

Then, he knocked Elijah's shoulder as he passed and left the room—it was almost a signal to follow, but Elijah stayed still, his eyes focused on his own brother.

Damon had been right. Whatever was in that coffin had to be an extremely powerful weapon or something Niklaus feared greatly if he was willing to go to such lengths to get it back.

"Go with him brother," Niklaus suddenly said, "You keep him honest. When you return, I _will _make good on my promise and I will hand over our family."

Elijah continued staring at his brother for a moment.

He had seen that look on Niklaus' face before.

_**Not likely…**_ he thought to himself

Then he turned and followed Damon out of the room, again.

Damon grabbed his jacket and made like he was heading for the front door, but after a turn over his shoulder confirmed that Klaus was still occupied with torturing his brother, he quickly moved back and with a nod, Elijah moved up the main staircase at vampire speed and Damon followed.

When they reached the second floor, Elijah made immediately for Rebekah's room and opened the door.

The sight hit him like a ton of bricks—something he hadn't seen in over four hundred years—his three younger sibling all together in the same room.

He smirked as Rebekah, Kol and Finn stood from where they were sitting and walked toward him, leaving a large quantity of blood bags on Rebekah's bed.

Rebekah and Finn watched as Kol stepped forward first and looped his upper arm in his brother's, giving him the traditional Nordic handshake.

"styrke og ære" Kol said with a nod

"mot og tapperhet" Elijah said with a smile, then pulled his brother in for a hug, "There's no need to stand on formality, little brother. I've _missed you_. I'm glad you're here."

Kol pulled back and returned the smile.

Finn stepped forward next and embraced Elijah.

"Elijah…it's been a long time," he said into his older brother's shoulder.

"Yes, it has. You need a shave my friend," Elijah teased as he took in his brother's appearance when Finn stepped back.

"Well, I see _your_ style hasn't changed…much." Finn replied in good humor and they all laughed.

"I hate to break up this little family reunion," Damon interjected from the doorway, "But if we don't get down there in the next five minutes, _my _brother's going to be a 'Smore."

"He's right." Elijah said, looking to his brothers, "Now, I assume Rebekah has filled you in on the plan?"  
>Kol and Finn both nodded and Finn stepped forward again, pulling both of their silver daggers out from the back of his belt and handed them to Elijah.<p>

Elijah took them then his eyes shifted to Rebekah.

"If it's all the same to you, Elijah," she said, brandishing her dagger with a mischievous smirk, "I'd like to hang on to mine."  
>Elijah smiled and looked back to Damon.<p>

"Mr. Salvatore, would you be so kind as to ask one of the lovely ladies downstairs to come up? We are going to need an assistant."

As Elijah and Damon came down the stairs and crossed the foyer with a beautiful, compelled blonde bombshell in tow, they could hear Stefan still struggling under Klaus' grip.

"_Kill me_. I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin," Stefan said through gritted teeth, his hand still in the flames.

Damon and Elijah stop in the foyer and watch as Klaus pulls Stefan from the fireplace and roughly stands him up.

"You really have given up, haven't you, eh? Where's _the fight_?" he asked, studying Stefan with menacing eyes then pushes him, "Where's _The Ripper?"_

Stefan grunts and pushes back.

Elijah knows that he should move now, before a fight breaks out.

He signals to Damon to enter and then follows him.

Immediately, he has Niklaus' attention.

"Elijah," Niklaus said, studying his brother in confusion, his eyes shifting to Damon as Stefan steps aside, "Why haven't you left?"

"Well, where are your manners brother?" Elijah said, raising his arms in mocked confusion, the tall compelled blonde with a cloth covered silver platter coming to his side. He reached over and pulled the cloth.

"We forgot dessert," he said with a smirk as the cloth moved away and revealed two silver daggers—one from each of his brothers.

Niklaus recoiled immediately, stepping back.

"What have you done?" he asked

"What have _you _done?" Elijah countered, "You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises Klaus. We're doing this on _my_ terms now."

Suddenly, Elijah watched as Niklaus stepped back in horror as their youngest brother stepped through the threshold between Elijah and Damon, b-lining straight for him.

"Kol!—" Niklaus said, raising his hands and backing away

"Long time brother," Kol said with stormy eyes as he stopped in the center of the room.

Just as Elijah had predicted, Niklaus made for the daggers without hesitation, ready to re-dagger Kol, but he was quickly stopped when Finn arrived at Elijah's side with vampire speed and grabbed his Niklaus' right arm to stop him as he took the dagger for his own.

"Finn…_don't..._" Niklaus said in a trembled voice, somehow knowing what his brother was capable of, before Finn raised the dagger and stabbed his brother through the palm of his right hand.

Niklaus cried out in pain and when Finn pulled out blade, he immediately made for closest exit with vampire speed, but the doorway was blocked by someone moving quickly toward him.

"Rebekah…" Niklaus said in recognition

Rebekah's eyes flashed in anger and a smile crossed her face as she moved straight for him and stabbed Niklaus through the lower abdomen as he doubled over in pain.

"This is for our mother…" she said in a low voice next to his ear before pushing him off the dagger and back into the center of the room where Kol took him in a vice grip, pulling his arms behind his back.

Elijah didn't like violence, especially among his own family, in fact he abhorred it, but this wasn't just violence.

After a thousand years, hundreds of broken promises, divided loyalties, missing and daggered siblings and two dead parents and a dead fiancée, this was something else…it was _justice_.

Elijah was a noble man and didn't like to think of it as vengeance, justice was a better word, he thought of himself too honorable for revenge—it was what had steadied his hand from killing Niklaus for over nine centuries.

But, suddenly, his mind flashed to his father with him in the cave all those centuries ago after Niklaus killed their mother.

"_Sometimes, Elijah, there is honor in revenge."_

Elijah face hardened at the memory and he spoke directly to Damon without taking his eyes off of his siblings.

"You're free to go…" he said, walking past the Salvatore brothers and watching out of the corner of his eye as Damon led Stefan out of room.

Elijah came to Rebekah's side and faced Niklaus, who was still struggling in Kol's grasp.

"This is family business," he smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, you've been planning this all along, have you, Elijah?" Niklaus asked in a low voice as he sat on the edge of the dining room table under Kol's watchful guard.

His eyes raised to his older brother as Elijah handed Finn a drink from the bar, then stepped forward next to Kol.

"Are you referring to tonight, Niklaus … or the last thousand years?" Elijah said with dark eyes

Niklaus' nostrils flared in anger, his eyes watering as he looked down to his hands folded in his lap.

"I never wanted _any _of this to happen—" he said in the sincerest voice he could muster

"Du løgner!" Kol shouted and immediately moved angrily towards his brother, aiming to strike him, but Elijah quickly caught his arm.

"_No, Kol_." Elijah said sternly, trying to meet Kol's gaze and lowered his voice as he brought down his brother's hand, "If we strike at him with violence, then we are no better than he is. Now, control yourself!"

Kol's face flushed, his breaths quick, but to his credit closed his eyes and immediately tried to calm himself and stepped back, shaking his head as he moved toward bar to fix himself a drink.

"That's alright. You can hate me all you want," Niklaus said, looking around at his siblings, "But, I have always kept my promise about one thing—Have you not all stayed together?"

"In _coffins_!" Rebekah scoffed

Elijah raised his hand toward Rebekah to silence her, then took a breath and leaned toward Niklaus, his eyes intense.

"If that is true, then who or what is in the _last _coffin?" Elijah asked

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know…"Niklaus seethed, narrowing his eyes

Elijah straightened, "You know, I thought I would be the better man and give you a chance to explain yourself, Niklaus, but it seems that time passed centuries ago and for the last eight hundred years, you've done nothing but _waste my time. _So, you are giving us no choice but to carry out our plan."

" What are _you_ going to do?" Niklaus challenged

"Well, first of all, _I'm_ going to do _this_…" Rebekah said from the other side of the room as she walked over and picked up one of Niklaus' sketchbooks and ripped it in half.

"And this!" she screamed as she ripped one of the French doors off of the parlor threshold and threw it out into the foyer.

Niklaus moved forward, but Elijah held him firm on the table and Niklaus relaxed, somewhat resigned to his fate of witnessing her destruction.

Rebekah narrowed her eyes in a challenge then crossed the room to an antique side table.

"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik," she mocked in a fictitious tone, then finished by picking up the glass vase sitting on the table and throwing it against the wall. It smashed hard, shattering completely and bringing down one of the framed landscape paintings.

"I wanted it to be for _all of us,_" Niklaus said in a low voice, looking down, "A place we could all call home, a place where we could be a _family_."

Elijah raised an eyebrow and looked up to Rebekah, who only stood in the center of the room with a grim expression.

She clearly did not believe anything Niklaus was saying and by Kol and Finn's silence, they agreed.

"None of us would ever have to be alone again," Niklaus finished, looking up to Elijah with sad eyes.

"Well, you're right." Elijah said, sharing a brief look with Kol before leaving Niklaus' side and walking over to stand by Rebekah, "None of _us _will be."

"You're staying behind," Finn said, pulling back from where he had been leaning on the fireplace mantle and crossing the room after Kol.

"We're leaving you, Nik," Rebekah smiled cruelly as Niklaus quickly stood from the table, seemingly confused by his sibling's actions, "Right after I kill that Doppleganger wench_._ Then _you_ will be alone… 'Always and Forever'."

Elijah looked at Rebekah out of the corner of his eye as he moved toward the threshold.

He would _never _let Rebekah touch Elena and, though he couldn't quite tell if she meant the threat it or not, he decided would let it go for the time being—if only for the sake of dramatic effect. By Niklaus' facial expression, clearly what Rebekah had said hit him where it hurt.

"If you run," Niklaus said in harsh, angry tone, pointing at his siblings, "I will hunt all of you down."

Elijah couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could it be, that the vampire who had spent a thousand years running from his own father, was threatening to do the same things to his siblings? Technically, since Niklaus had been running from Mikael all these centuries, so had they.

It was a low blow and it made Elijah back off the parlor stairs and turn toward Niklaus.

"Then you will become everything you hate…" he said in an intense voice, raising his eyebrows at the irony, "Our father."

"_I'm _the hybrid!" Niklaus screamed, clearly backed into a corner, "I can't be killed! I have _nothing _to fear from any of_ you." _He finished with a menacing smile

"You will when we have that coffin," Elijah replied sternly.

He watched as Niklaus' face dropped and he looked over the faces of his other siblings, hoping to find one to be on his side—he could _always_ find _one_—but right now, they were all just as cold and stern as Elijah's.

The lies their brother had told them and the threats he had made over the centuries had finally taken their effect.

They were finished with him and he could see it in their eyes.

The bonds of family and oaths of loyalty were not enough… not anymore.

Suddenly, there was a sound in the foyer that made Elijah jump and turn, then they all followed suit.

Then she was there in front of them—she had walked right in the front door.

Elijah's heart dropped and his breath caught in his throat.

"Mother…" Rebekah said in a low voice, clearly stunned—they all were.

Esther stood on the landing of the back parlor.

She didn't look any different then the day they last saw her in 1044 A.D, staring down at her five surviving children, seemingly scanning each of their faces.

When her eyes met Elijah's, memories came flooding back that he never knew he still had.

Where had she come from?

Elijah, like all of his siblings, believed her to be dead. Niklaus had ripped out her heart over a thousand years ago and Elijah had seen Niklaus and Rebekah bury her body.

Was she a ghost?

All of these thoughts raced through his mind as he watched his Mother walk down the steps of the parlor and head straight to Niklaus, passing through her other children without a word.

Elijah took in her scent. She was real and she was _human._

Elijah turned back with disbelief and immediately saw Niklaus was close to hysterics, frozen, his eyes tearing and his breathing erratic at the sight of their mother.

Elijah narrowed his eyes as he looked to his other siblings, then studied his mother, wondering what she would do next now that she was facing the son who had killed her all those centuries ago.

Suddenly, something occurred to him that hadn't occurred before.

Niklaus said that he had been true to his word and kept them together all these centuries, even after he 'killed' them.

_She _was the 'secret weapon' Damon had been talking about, her body locked by a spell in a coffin for God knows how long.

It made sense, since his mother had once been a very powerful witch.

Elijah's suspicions were confirmed when his mother finally stood inches away from Niklaus.

"_Look at me_." she said in a stern tone, but Elijah couldn't see her face.

Was she angry?

Niklaus took a breath and raised his eyes to his mother—his first real victim.

"Do you know… why I'm here?" Esther asked

Niklaus' face crumbled, "You're here to kill me."

Elijah was taken aback. Of course, his mother could kill Klaus.

Niklaus, by the look on his face, was_ terrified_.

It gave Elijah a small tinge of satisfaction, but it also, surprisingly, made him feel for his brother—made him want to step forward and help him.

He had never known _why_ Niklaus had killed their mother, only that Mikael had told him he had.

And for the first time in a thousand years, he suddenly wanted to know.

"Niklaus, you are my son," Esther said, "And I am here to forgive you."

Elijah took a breath and looked at his siblings, clearly they were all in shock by this revelation as well.

Suddenly, their mother turned to face them all, a soft smile crossing her face like when she looked at them when they were young.

"I want us to be a family, again." she said

They all tried to put on as best a face as they could for their mother's sake, but Elijah could see that as they one by one greeted the woman who had died a thousand years ago, that they were all clearly confused and in shock, not just about her sudden appearance, but also how they were supposed to deal with this revelation as it concerned their brother.

So, when their mother excused herself to rest and Niklaus offered to show her to one of the guest rooms upstairs, Elijah was not surprised when Rebekah volunteered to go with them. Partly because she did not trust Niklaus and partly because Elijah knew she was hoping to find out some information to share with the others.

As they waited for Rebekah to return, Elijah, Kol and Finn shut themselves in the upstairs sitting room.

There, they waited in silence.

None of them seemed to know what to say.

Finally, the French doors opened and Rebekah walked in, then looking over her shoulder to make sure Niklaus hadn't followed her, leaned back on the doors to close them.

She was quiet for a moment as she studied her brothers then raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

"I—I just—I mean…_Holy Crap!"_ she cried, throwing her arms in the air.

Elijah smiled as he walked over to the liquor cart to refill his bourbon.

"I don't know if, being a vampire, you can say '_Holy_ Crap', Bekah." Kol smirked

"Well, I'm saying it." Rebekah said, stepping forward and seating herself on the arm of Finn's chair, "Because it pretty much sums up this _whole_ evening."

"So Mother has been in a coffin that Niklaus has been carting around for centuries and she _forgives_ him for it?" Finn asked, narrowing his eyes as he took a sip of blood from a tumbler, "She said it and I _still_ can't believe it. Is it just me or is there something not right about that?"

"I agree," Elijah said, replacing the top on the glass decanter

"I thought she had been buried?" Kol interjected

"She _had_," Rebekah confirmed, looking back over her shoulder to Elijah, "Elijah, Nik, and I were all there."

"Then how did she end up in a coffin in Niklaus' possession?" Finn asked in a low voice, looking from Kol to Rebekah

"He must have exhumed her body," Kol concluded, leaning back on the sofa and propping up his feet on the end.

"But, _when_?" Rebekah asked in a low voice, "Most of us were with him for centuries—close to him. I, for one, never saw a coffin."

"The important thing to focus on is not _how_ Niklaus came into possession of her body or _when,_ but _why_ he had it in the first place and how she was able to come back to life," Elijah said, picking up his drink off of the liquor cart and walking back to the sofa, where he smacked Kol's legs and the young vampire immediately moved them, sitting up to allow his older brother to sit next to him.

"She's _human,_" Elijah continued, settling back and unbuttoning his suit jacket with his free hand, "I caught her scent when she passed us. It has to be a spell, some kind of preservation that somehow kept her soul or her life-force intact."

"Well, that's inspired, Elijah, did you come up with that all on your own?" Kol smirked and Elijah rolled his eyes

"This is _serious,_ Kol," Finn said, leaning forward and giving his brother a stern look, "Elijah's right. We don't know what Mother's return means."

He then looked to Elijah, "It could be one of Niklaus deceptions."

There was a silence in the room as everyone thought about this.

"I don't know…" Elijah said, shaking his head, taking another drink, "You all saw Niklaus' face when she came into the room, he was genuinely terrified."

"That _was_ quite gratifying…" Kol mused

Elijah ignored his brother's comment and continued, "Even if he was the one who exhumed her body and carted her around for who knows how long, I think her actual physical resurrection was something he wasn't expecting. The coffin was closed with a spell. He wouldn't have known how to open it and probably has spent centuries making sure it stayed that way."

"And the plot thickens…" Kol observes, looking over to Elijah in surprise

"Why is it that you are always one step ahead of all of us?" Rebekah mused

"More importantly, how the bloody hell did you know that the coffin was closed with a spell?" Kol added

"The Salvatore brothers told me." Elijah said, leaning forward, rolling the tumbler in his hands, "After I awoke, they asked for my help. The dinner party last night was a distraction Damon Salvatore and I created—a truce meeting between the Salvatores and Niklaus—to give the Salvatore's witches a chance to try and open a 'mystery' coffin that Stefan had stolen from Klaus, along with both of you," he said, pointing to Kol and Finn, "They didn't know who or what was in the coffin, only that they believed it could hurt or potentially kill Niklaus since he wanted it back so badly."

"So they were the ones who released her? Elijah, Mother _could _kill him, you know—she's a servant of nature—" Finn started

"I don't think that's her intention," Rebekah said, interrupting as she smoothed out the bottom of her dress, "When we were upstairs, she kept going on about how she wants to heal the wounds between us and Nik. She wants all to be forgiven and for us to be a family again—all the things she said when we were downstairs earlier."

"Do you think she's really forgiven him?" Kol looked to Elijah

Elijah bit his lip before taking another sip of his bourbon.

"No," he said, standing, "No, I don't. Something isn't right—_she's_ not right. Her being here—it just seems _wrong_. And if Niklaus didn't _want _to bring her back, then that means that there is something else—"

"Well, forgiveness and hidden agendas aside, I, for one, am happy she's back." Rebekah said suddenly standing, the emotion clear in her voice.

"You may_ not be_," she said, looking directly at Elijah, "but I've missed having a Mother. I may not trust Nik, but I trust _her_, so, if you are planning something to drive her away again, or against her—I don't want any part of it."

"Rebekah, I'm _so sorry,"_ Elijah said, closing his eyes and reaching out to his sister, "I know you've missed having her here…I didn't mean—"

"Well, it's been a long day. I'm getting out of this horribly uncomfortable dress and turning in." Rebekah continued, her eyes starting to glisten, "Goodnight, brothers. Jeg elsker deg alle."

Then she turned and made for the door as the brothers all immediately stood and watched her go.

"Lovely, Elijah." Kol said in a mocking tone, "Well done."

Then he quickly headed out the door after his sister.

Finn walked over and placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder as Elijah silently cursed himself for being so thoughtless with his words.

"Don't worry about it," Finn said trying to be re-assuring, "You know how emotional Rebekah can be."

"I know, but I shouldn't have said what I said. I know what it sounded like," Elijah said, bringing his free hand to his forehead, "I don't blame Rebekah for reacting the way she did."

"Well,_ I_ think you make a good point." Finn said in a low voice, "And if you need my help finding out Mother's true intentions… I'm in."

"Thank You." Elijah said with a smile, then watched as his brother downed the rest of his blood, then handed Elijah the glass and walked out of the sitting room.


	6. Chapter 6

The next afternoon, Finn knocked on Elijah's bedroom door.

"Come in." Elijah said, standing near the window, tying his suit tie

Finn entered and closed the door behind him.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked

"Yes." Elijah said as he pulled the bottom part of his tie through and adjusted it under his collar, then looked over to his brother and smiled, "Well, I see that it wasn't just the shave that made the difference."

Finn raised an eyebrow and touched his smooth face, then looked down at his new wardrobe—a black t-shirt and stone washed jeans.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked

"An _observation_," Elijah insisted then gestured to a chair nearby, "Sit, brother, Please."

Finn nodded and walked over to the chair and sat down, Elijah sitting opposite him on the corner of the bed.

"You got my note?" Elijah asked

"I did" Finn acknowledged "And I've talked with Mother on my own as you instructed. I hate to break it to you, but she told me the same thing that she told Rebekah last night, that she wants nothing more than to bring us all together again and for us to heal in the wake of Mikael's death."

"Did you look around her quarters?"

"I did."

"Was there anything unusual about her behavior? How she acted around you?"

"No. She seems normal—"

"Do you think that she has a hidden agenda?"

"No."

Finn looked down to his hands for a moment then looked up, "I _believe _her, Elijah."

Elijah studied his brother's face before smirking.

_**Damn it,**_ Elijah thought to himself

He let out a breath and stood, Finn following suit.

"Perhaps, you're right and I'm just too suspicious for my own good." Elijah said

Finn smiled, "There's nothing wrong with being suspicious, Elijah. In fact, I admire you for being so. You have amazing instincts—you should always trust them."

Elijah didn't say anything, only nodded, as Finn dismissed himself the room.

When the door closed behind his brother, Elijah let his fall back on his shoulders as he closed his eyes.

Finn was right. He had to trust his instincts, no matter how much he didn't want to.

They had never steered him wrong before and they weren't steering him wrong now.

His instincts told him that Finn was lying…

_**Nijmegen, Netherlands—1113 A.D **_

_The cottage door came crashing down with one strike, waking Elijah from his sleep in a chair next to the hearth. _

_His eyes opened and he sat up just in time to see a figure move at vampire speed past him. _

_At first, Elijah thought he was imagining things…until he heard Niklaus' screams.  
><em>

_Then, the smashing of wood..._

_Elijah immediately grabbed his sword and quickly moved to his brother's room at the back of the cottage, but when he arrived, the room was empty. _

_His eyes moved to the bedroom window—the wooden shutters shattered in pieces on the floor.  
><em>

_Elijah ran to the open window and looked out. _

_He couldn't see anything, but could hear a commotion in the yard. _

"_Elijah, what is happening?" Kol asked, appearing immediately at his brother's side near the window. _

"_I can't be certain," Elijah said, his nostrils flaring and his hand gripping his sword tighter "But I believe Niklaus is in danger."  
><em>

_He turned to his brother, "Stay here." _

"_But—"_

"_No arguments, Kol!" Elijah cried as he leaped through the window and raced out into the night. _

_In moments, he was at the edge of the clearing near the woods that backed up onto their property. _

_There, he could see two figures in the darkness—two men—their swords clinging as they struggled against each other. _

_When they turned, Elijah could see that one of them was Niklaus, dressed in nothing but his trousers and his boots, evading his enemy's advances. _

_The other was a tall figure dressed in a hooded cloak._

_As Niklaus cross blocked his enemy's sword, the cloaked figure kicked Niklaus' feet out from under him and hit him hard with his elbow, causing Niklaus to lose hold of his weapon and come down hard on his back. _

_Elijah moved forward quickly to help his brother, but then he saw something that made him stop. _

_The cloak figure brandished a stake from under his cloak—one made from wood from the white oak tree. _

_But before the mysterious figure could dagger his brother, Niklaus kicked out with his feet, knocking his opponent back, just far enough that he could escape, moving with vampire speed toward the nearby stable. _

_Moments later, he crashed through the stable doors on the back of a white stallion, making haste toward the tree line. _

_But he didn't make it in the clear before the hooded figure stepped forward and with an angry cry, threw his sword at Niklaus. _

_The sword spun through the air, barely missing Niklaus, but not his horse. _

_Elijah watched as it passed in front of his brother, missing him by inches and severing the neck of his favorite stallion with deadly accuracy. _

_The horse fell in two pieces to the ground, tossing Niklaus onto the forest floor and covering him in the animal's blood. _

_Within seconds, though, he was on his feet again and took off with vampire speed for the woods. _

_The figure moved to chase him, but was stopped by Elijah's voice. _

"_Father?" _

_Elijah waited as the figure stood with his back to him for a few moments, then turned back to face him, lowering his hood._

_Elijah took an unsteady breath, lowering his sword. _

_It was Mikael. _

_They stood there staring at each other for a few moments in silence, Mikael's piercing blue eyes meeting Elijah's dark brown, before Mikael finally took off in the opposite direction of where Niklaus had run. _

_Hours later, Niklaus returned to the cottage and they left. _

_When they had found a new place to stay, Niklaus finally went into his rampage, throwing furniture and screaming accusations at his siblings. _

_One by one, he accused them of betraying him to Mikael—that was the only way, Niklaus reasoned, that their father could have found him._

_And one by one they all stood there, taking his insults and threats, and told their brother that they had not. _

_Then, when Niklaus finally came down from his fury, he gave them all an intense look and told them that the next day they were leaving the country, then retired to his room. _

_After the others had gone to bed, Elijah found he couldn't sleep. _

_He kept going over Niklaus' interrogations of his siblings one by one in his head. _

_Something wasn't right. _

_He was standing next to the hearth, taking small sips of blood from an iron goblet, gazing into the flames, when he sensed someone. _

_It was Finn. _

"_Can't sleep either?" Elijah asked, turning back to his brother_

"_No." Finn smiled weakly_

"_Sit down," Elijah said, pointing to a nearby chair, "There is something I wish to speak to you about." _

_Finn furrowed his brow, "There is? At this late hour?" _

"_Yes." Elijah said, "And I think it is better we have this conversation now, rather than later." _

_Finn obeyed and took a seat in one of the two sets of wooden chairs next to the hearth. _

_There was a moment of silence as Elijah turned back to the hearth, his back facing his brother. _

_It would be easier if he didn't have to look at Finn. _

"_Why did you lie?" Elijah asked in a low voice, staring down into his goblet. _

"_What?" Finn asked, surprised_

"_When Niklaus asked you if you had any involvement in the attempt on his life, you said no." _

"_Yes" _

"_When he asked you if you had had any contact with Mikael, you said no." _

"_I did."_

"_They were both lies, Finn." Elijah said, closing his eyes and shaking his head  
><em>

_"Elijah, how did you?—" Finn countered and Elijah could hear him moving nervously in his chair_

"_Know? I'm your brother, Finn. I always know." Elijah said, then asked, "How long have you been in contact with Mikael?" _

"_Elijah—"_

"_How long?" Elijah asked again, his voice raising slightly_

_There was a long silence before Finn lowered his head. _

"_Two months." He whispered _

_Elijah placed his goblet on the mantle and turned back to his brother. _

"_Why? Why would you go looking for Mikael—after all this time?"  
><em>

_Finn raised his head again, "I've been trying to contact him for almost a century—this was just the first I had found of him." _

_Elijah was taken aback._

_He had to admit that he had considered trying to contact his father many times, but his mind wandered back to the conversation he had with Mikael over a century before in the cave and his promise to his father that he would not try to ever contact him after he left-that he would leave Mikael to handle Niklaus._

"_Look, Finn," Elijah said, crossing the room to his brother, "I understand what your feeling. I myself, have wanted to kill Niklaus several times—" _

"_Who said I wanted to kill Niklaus?" Finn asked with narrowed eyes_

_Elijah froze, realizing he had said more than he should._

_Finn straightened himself in his chair._

"_Yes, I DID contact Mikael and yes, I lied to Niklaus about it. But, I didn't summon him to kill Niklaus—more than anything, I wanted him to kill ME." _

_Elijah blinked in __stunned silence. He didn't know what to say. _

"_I asked him to kill me and he said he would do it on one condition," Finn continued, "that I gave him our location and made sure that Nik would be there. I thought it odd, but I agreed and gave up our location. And in return, he agreed that if he could kill Niklaus, he would stake me. Still, I'm not sure why he would want to kill Nik so badly. Do you?"  
><em>

_Elijah did. Niklaus had killed their mother. _

_But none of his siblings knew that. _

_As far as they knew, Mikael had. And for their own protection, Elijah had made sure it stayed that way. _

"_Finn…" Elijah said, stepping forward, wanting to comfort his brother. _

_Elijah understood his anguish.  
>Becoming vampires had not been easy for any of them. The first months and years weren't too difficult—they were still adjusting then. But soon one year turned to fifty and then a hundred. <em>

_Elijah had already once tried to starve himself to death after he lost Liliya and he was sure even Kol, Rebekah and Niklaus had once or twice considered ending their own lives._

_What made it worse was that all of the characteristics born in you as a human became magnified when you became a vampire. For Elijah and Finn, their characteristics served them well as vampries—for Niklaus and Rebekah, it had become their greatest faults. _

_No one really knows what happened to Kol. _

_He was the exception to the rule. He just became a monster. _

"_I'm sorry that I went behind your back, but don't want to be what I am anymore," Finn said, shaking his head, the emotion cracking in his voice, "this was done to me—I couldn't help it—I can't cure it and I can't stop the CRAVINGS. I've killed people, Elijah—INNOCENT people. And the worst part is that it wasn't just to feed—I've done it to serve others—to serve Niklaus. But, the blood is still on MY hands. I don't enjoy it like Kol does and I can't turn it off like you and Niklaus. I know Mother did this for us—to protect us—but it has been a burden, this immortality, not a gift. I just want it to end."_

_Elijah put his hand tentatively on his brother's shoulder, but Finn shrugged it off. _

"_Please. Don't pity me," he said looking away, holding back tears_

"_It's not pity, Finn." Elijah said, replacing his hand, and sitting down in a chair next to his brother, trying to meet his eyes, "It's empathy. I know what you're feeling, Brother…more than you'll ever know." _

_And the rest of the night, they sat together by the hearth in silence._

_The following morning, when Finn did not come to breakfast, Elijah made his way to his brother's room. _

_He was worried._

_And when he entered Finn's bedroom, he found he had just cause. _

_Elijah gasped, turning his head away in despair and shock when he saw Finn, lying on his bed, still in the clothes he had been wearing the previous night, a silver dagger protruding from his chest. _

_Elijah let out a trembled breath, trying to steady himself, then turned toward the threshold to exit, but his way was blocked by a figure. _

_It was Niklaus. _

"_I see you've found our traitor, Elijah." he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe._

"_How did you know?" Elijah asked narrowing his eyes _

"_I heard your little conversation last night," Niklaus said, straightening himself and stepping forward, his voice low and hostile, "About how poor Finn sold out his own brother to end…oh, what did he call it? Oh, yes… his MISERY." _

_Elijah's nostrils flared in anger as he eyed his brother._

"_Well, he's out of his misery NOW." Niklaus smirked_


	7. Chapter 7

Elijah needed some air.

As he pulled on his suit jacket and walked down the hallway toward the main staircase of the mansion, he could hear his sibling's voices.  
>It was Rebekah and Kol. They were in Rebekah's room.<p>

Elijah didn't like to eaves drop and the conversations between his siblings as they were usually of little consequence. He imagined that they were still catching each other up on the years they had missed.

Elijah was about to just walk past the door, but then he heard _her _name and it stopped him in his tracks.

"Then, after I lured Nik back here, Elena daggered me—"

"The _human _doppelganger daggered you?" Kol laughed as he plopped down on Rebekah's bed, with a tumbler in one hand and a nearly empty bottle of scotch in the other, "Oh, Bekah…that's priceless."

Rebekah rolled her eyes and turned on the chair in front of her vanity mirror to face her brother, her own drink in hand.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm frightfully angry about, but I probably had it coming" Rebekah sighed, looking down into her tumbler, "Truth be told, I can be kind of a bitch."

Kol sat up directly, staring at his younger sister.

"None of us, 'had it coming', do you understand?" he said bitterly, "Don't _say_ that!"

Rebekah recoiled.

Kol was the one brother who vampirism had taken complete hold of.

The quiet, kind, warrior was gone and in his place for the last nine hundred years had been a young man desperate for his sadistic older brother's approval and had been put himself through the ringer to get it, several times.

He was now egotistic, masochistic and well, every kind of 'istic' there is.

But Rebekah still loved him.

Loved him and feared him.

"Well, you know what _I_ would do?" Kol said, taking a drink as he fluffed up the pillows behind him on the bed with his free hand, "I'd kill her."

Rebekah smiled, "Kol. Be serious."

Kol said nothing, his face blank.

"I'll admit that I'd like to make her suffer...torture her a bit… but not enough to _kill_ her." Rebekah continued, trying to deflect her brother, "Besides, I'm drunk and it would be _messy_."

Elijah breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Well, Bekah, if you don't kill her, maybe I will." Kol smirked

Rebekah put her glass down hard on her vanity, "What the hell is your deal with killing the human, Kol?"

"Well," Kol shrugged, "It seems that the human is important to Nik. He wants her alive for something, but he won't say what. For over five hundred years, he's been looking for Liliya's doppelganger so that he could kill her and now he's convinced Mother that we should maintain peace with her—with _all _of them."

"And what's wrong with that?" Rebekah asked, pulling herself up and walking over to her brother, pulling the bottle of scotch out of his hand.

"It makes me _sick_… that's what's wrong. Something is up, sister. We should _kill_ her. She's something that would hurt Nik—and whatever plan he's got up his sleeve."

"Careful, Kol. That's savors strongly of psychotic bitterness." Rebekah smirked then took a swig from the bottle, "Besides, I think you've been in the lock box too long and just want to kill something."

"Well, if I'm bitter, I have every right to be!" Kol cried, sitting up and throwing his glass against the wall, shattering it.

Rebekah jumped.

"This is _our chance_, Rebekah, to take something away from _him!_ Don't chicken out on me now."

"But, what about Elijah?" Rebekah asked in an unsure voice

"What about him?" Kol countered, narrowing his eyes

"He would never let us hurt her—"

"Oh, this is just _perfect_!" Kol laughed sadistically then looked to his sister, "Do you think that he has _feelings_ for her? I suppose I never thought about it before, but it could be true. I mean, don't get me wrong... I saw her picture. She's _beautiful_—looks just like Liliya, especially around the eyes."

Elijah's fists balled in anger at his sides behind the door.

Rebekah turned the bottle of scotch in her hand nervously, "Yes—well, no—I don't know, _maybe_. I haven't seen or heard anything either way. It's just that he's so _honorable _and I'm sure that's he made some kind of deal with the little wench to keep her safe from harm—that's what he _does_, Kol. He's done it before."

Kol rolled his shoulders, "Forget Elijah. We'll deal with him later."

Rebekah sighed, then smiled nervously, "Well, I suppose it would feel _good_. I haven't killed anyone in a while. And after all, she's just collateral damage."  
>Elijah's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief.<p>

"Brilliant! That's the spirit," Kol smiled, then reached for the second bottle of scotch on the nearby night stand, "and we'll toast you a few more for the road."

Rebekah raised the empty scotch bottle and clanked it with her brother's full one...

Elijah's mind raced for the next hour.

Should he go in and stop them right then and there?

_**Yes**__,_ his heart told him.

_**No**__,_ said his head.

If he went in now and tried to talk them out of it or used force, he could anger them. And though it would stop them now, they might still attack Elena later and he couldn't risk that.

No, it was best to wait.  
>It was best to wait and follow them.<br>He would have to attack at the right moment.  
>They would have to actually move on Elena and he would have to be there to stop it once and for all. Otherwise, they might not take him seriously.<p>

Around 8pm, Elijah followed Rebekah out of the mansion.

To his surprise, Kol stayed behind, passed out on her canopy bed from drink.

He would talk to her, he reasoned. He would set her straight. Without Kol near, he could bring her back to his side. Rebekah was always conflicted when it came to all of her brothers.

Elijah knew deep down, she was doing this for Kol, to impress him and to earn his acceptance just like she always did.

Sure she was angry, but Elijah had helped her control her anger before, he could do it again.

Elena wouldn't have to be in danger.

He had been thinking of Elena, where she would be and what she would be doing, when he looked up and realized that he had lost Rebekah.

His eyes narrowed and he immediately sniffed the air—her scent was fresh. He could track her that way.

A few minutes later, Elijah approached just as he saw Rebekah pounce on Elena, pinning her against the back of her SUV in the Mystic Falls hospital parking lot.

"Surprised? You drove a dagger through my back, Elena. It _hurt_," she spat venomously in Elena's face.

Elijah was amazed at how quickly he reacted when he saw Rebekah's face change, and within moments, the idea of talking her down, turned into physical violence.

He had always tried never to raise his hand to her—she was his sister.

But, as always, when it came to keeping Elena alive, the rules changed.

He was immediately at Elena's side, flinging Rebekah off of her and pinning his sister to the car, his hand at her throat.

"Elijah" Rebekah said in a resigned voice, the heaviness of the liquor still evident behind her eyes.

"_Leave_." Elijah said sternly, releasing his grip on her neck

Rebekah pushed herself off of the back passenger door and stood to face him, but did not move to leave.

"Are you challenging me?" he smirked

He knew she never would. He was older and stronger than her. He had trained her and protected her for over a thousand years.

All she had were her words.

"You're _pathetic_," she shot back before looking over to Elena, "Both of you."

She didn't seem surprised to see him and it made him wonder what she was thinking at that moment—perhaps something to do with what she and Kol had discussed earlier about him and Elena.

Without another word, she raced off into the night back to the mansion.

Elijah looked after her for a few moments before turning back to Elena, who looked more than a little relieved to see him.

"Well, I believe we have some catching up to do." Elijah said with a smile behind his eyes

It was a quiet ride to the Gilbert house.

Elena shot little glances his way every now and then as she drove, but Elijah tried not to look in her direction. He did everything he possibly could to keep his eyes fixed on the sights outside of the passenger side window.

When they pulled into the drive, Elena turned off the headlights, pulled the key out of the transmission and put it in her bag.

"Alaric isn't home tonight. You are welcome to come in so we can talk." She said, unfastening her seatbelt.

Elijah searched her face for a moment then nodded.

A few moments later, Elena unlocked the front door and stepped through the threshold, turning on the lights in the foyer and turned back to Elijah, who had stopped just short of the doorway.

"Come in, Elijah." She said

Elijah smirked and stepped through to her side as she shut the door behind them.

"Would you like a drink?" Elena asked as she removed her jacket and the bag from her shoulder and tossed them onto the stairway.

"No. I'm fine. But, thank you." Elijah said, watching her

Elena turned back to him and smiled, "Well, a vampire has just tried to kill me and I just invited her brother into my house…_I_ need a drink."

Then she pivoted and headed down the hall toward the kitchen as Elijah smiled, noting the play on the words he had spoken to her when they last met in his apartment.

"I'm sorry about Rebekah," Elijah said, following her into the room and leaning against the side counter as he watched Elena pull a glass from the cabinet above the sink, then sit it down on the center island, and move to the refrigerator and open it, "She's been recently awoken—she angry, confused and a little emotional. Not to mention she's been drinking and the fact that things are in such a state of flux with the family right now, isn't helping."

"How so?" Elena asked, pulling a jug of tea from the top shelf and closing the door behind her.

"Well, my sister now has other people influencing her actions and behavior."

"What other people?"

"Well, my mother for one." Elijah said straightening

Elena's eyes widened and she dropped the glass pitcher in her hand.

Elijah quickly stepped forward and caught it before it could smash on the kitchen floor, setting it gently on the counter.

"Are you alright?" he asked, eyeing Elena

"What do you _mean_ your mother 'for one'?" Elena asked, still frozen in fear

Elijah sighed and closed his eyes, "Last night, after our little dinner party with Damon and Stefan, I gave my brother a….well… a _surprise._"

"What?" Elena asked, finally snapping to and turning to him.

Elijah opened his eyes, "My family—I removed their daggers."

Elena put her hands on the island and leaned forward.

"Wow…" She whispered with a raised eyebrow, "And_ your mother?_"

"Well, my siblings and I had a little reunion," Elijah said, a small smile in the corner of his mouth as he remembered the terror on his brother's face at seeing Kol and Finn, again, "Afterwards, we decided that since we were unable to kill Klaus, we would give him a taste of his own medicine. We were planning on going together and leaving him behind. But, before we could, our mother arrived…and believe me it was _quite _unexpected."

Elena shook her head, "How is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure," Elijah said, "And she won't say. As far as I knew she was long dead and buried. Now, it turns out that Niklaus had been keeping her body for centuries, seemingly knowing nothing of her ability to return—she was who was in the last coffin, Elena, the one that Stefan and Damon wanted to open to kill Klaus."

Elena straightened, "So, we let her out…"

Elijah nodded

Elena folded her arms across her chest and studied Elijah for a moment.

"So, what's it _like_?" she asked softly, leaning toward him

"What?"

"Seeing your brothers after all these years? Seeing Rebekah? Seeing _your_ _mother_?" Elena continued, clearly concerned for him.

Elijah sighed, "I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now, Elena. It's definitely a lot to take in all at once, especially since I thought I would never see them again."

Elena unfolded her arms and stepped toward him, reaching a hand out to him and placing it on his arm.

His eyes met hers and she smiled.

"I think we both need a stronger drink than tea. What do you say?"

Elijah closed his eyes, "_Please_…"

Elijah sat on the sofa in the living room and watched as Elena poured him a drink from the liquor cabinet.

"Here," she said, handing the bourbon to him as she rounded the sofa with a drink of her own and sat down beside him.

She took a drink from her glass then placed it on the coffee table, rubbing her hands on her thighs as she watched him take a sip of his.

"Thanks," Elijah said as he cradled the drink in his hand and turned to her.

"So Damon told me that Klaus daggered you." Elena whispered, looking down, avoiding his gaze, "After you saved him during the ritual."

Elijah sat forward and placed his drink on the coffee table in front of him.

"_I'm sorry_…about that."

Elena looked up, "Why did you do it?"

"I thought Damon or Stefan would have told you—"

"I know what _they_ told me, Elijah," Elena said, "But I want to hear it from _you_."

Elijah took a breath and nodded

"Before I could kill him, Klaus promised me that he would turn over my family and that we would all be re-united. He claimed he hadn't daggered them and buried them at sea as he had originally told me."

Elena eyes softened as his gaze moved to her.

"I see."

Their eyes met for a moment before Elijah shook his head.

"Still, I'm sorry. I gave you my word and I failed you, Elena. I—I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I made a horrible mistake and I paid for it in more ways than one—I let my feelings for my family get in the way of my honor—"

Suddenly, Elena's hand was on his arm and Elijah froze.

"It's alright, Elijah." Elena said softly, "You don't have to say anymore. I understand. You've waited a long, long time to be with your family. I know what they mean to you—"

"I wouldn't have broken my word to you for anything else."

"I know." Elena smiled

There was a silence as Elijah searched her face for a moment and it didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for—her forgiveness.

"Thank You" he sighed

But, he realized in that moment, it wasn't just forgiveness he saw on her face, there was something else, something in her eyes.

Elijah recognized it immediately and it took his breath away—it was _compassion._

Liliya had it once, too.

"Well, we do anything and everything for family, right?" Elena said softly as she turned away from Elijah, her face beginning crumble.

Elijah moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder as she buried the lower part of her face in her hands.

"Damon told me about Jeremy. I'm so sorry, Elena."

Elena pulled her hands back and took a trembled breath, her eyes glistening as she turned to Elijah.

"At least he's alive somewhere and living a normal life now. That's all I can hope for, right? I just want him to be safe."

"For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. But, sometimes it can be hard to let go." Elijah said with a tinge of bitterness in his voice, taking the glass of bourbon in his hand again and throwing it back.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, wiping under her eyes as Elijah put the empty glass back down on the table.

"Nothing," Elijah breathed, biting his lip, "It's just..."

"What?" Elena asked, confused

Elijah scanned his eyes over her for a moment then answered.

"When Niklaus daggered me, I dreamed. It's not the first time, either. It's happened before. The last time, though, it was a memory. It was of Mikael and myself when I was a young boy," Elijah smiled at the memory, "He was showing me how to hold a sword for the first time, putting his hands over mine on the hilt as he stood behind me and moved my arms in guided motions." Then the smile faded, "This time, I was lying in a clearing in the forest under the trees. And Liliya was there."

"The original doppelganger?" Elena breathed

"She told me that I that I let my feelings for my family—for my siblings—cloud my judgment. She questioned my motives when it came to my brother. And then she said—"  
>Elijah stopped and closed his eyes, shaking his head.<p>

"Then she said…what?" Elena encouraged in a soothing voice

Elijah opened his eyes and turned to her, "Then she said that the real reason I have been unable to kill Klaus all these years, was that I was afraid to be alone without him—that I had been so wrapped up in duty, honor and family that forgotten to _live. _That if he died, even if I was reunited with the rest of my family, I would have _nothing_ left. I wouldn't have a purpose—a reason for living."

There was a moment of silence as Elena considered this.

"Do you think what she said is true?" she asked finally

Elijah studied her face for a moment then answered.

"Yes, partly. I lost my reason for living once—Liliya. Then, when I made my promise to my father to watch over my siblings and keep Niklaus from breaking the curse, I found a purpose again. Once that's over—once he's gone—I'll have nothing, again. It's true. Perhaps I have wasted my immortality."

"You have your siblings." Elena pointed out

"I refuse to keep them like pets." Elijah scoffed, "Klaus did that for centuries, changing them around—keeping them checked by keeping two daggered and two awake at a time. They deserve to be free, free to live the life they are meant to, do anything and go anywhere they please."

"And what about _your_ life?"

"What about it?"

"You say you want everyone else to live, but are you ever going to? It's not too late. You have to be brave and be ready to move on and live without him."

"I don't know…perhaps." Elijah smiled.

Elena took a breath and straightened before standing up off the couch.

"Well, then. I think that we should get started."

"What?" Elijah asked, furrowing his brow as he looked up to her

"Tonight, you are going to forget about your mother and your siblings and your hybrid brother and live a little and I'm going to help you," she smiled

"Elena, it's fine, really, I didn't tell you this to—"

"Elijah, if you think what she said is true and you want to change it, then why won't you let me help you?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow

"Alright," Elijah sighed

"Alright," Elena nodded and twirled around, walking over toward the fireplace, where a large oak cabinet stood

She flung open the doors to reveal a record player on the center shelf of the cabinet, surrounded by rows and rows of vinyl records.

She pulled a record out and spun around again to face Elijah, waving it in her hand.

"First lesson. You, my friend, are going to dance."

"Here?"

"Oh, yeah...just because you can." Elena smiled

"_No._" Elijah said shaking his head

Elena lowered the record and sighed, "Come on. You're always _so serious_."

"But, I like being serious." Elijah countered with a smirk

"That's exactly the point, Elijah. _Come on_..."

When he didn't move, she continued, dancing the record in front of her.

"Do it for Liliya? And for me?"

Elijah eyed Elena for a moment before he reluctantly removed his suit jacket and laid it over the back of the couch.

"Very well," he said, using vampire speed to appear immediately at her side, rolling up his dress shirt sleeves as he began to peruse the record collection, "But, _I_ get to choose."

"That's fair," Elena smiled as she put the record she was holding back in its proper place

"This one." Elijah said, pulling a record out and holding it up to her.

"The _Best of Muddy Waters_? Uh…_no._" Elena countered, making an x with her two index fingers over the record.

"It's the blues, Elena. It's mellow."

"_Mellow?_ Oh, God, why couldn't Stefan and Damon be here to listen to you right now?" Elena chuckled to herself, then grabbed the record from Elijah's hand, "Put your harmonic away, Soul Man."

Elijah turned back to the cabinet and scanned the records again, as Elena replaced the one she had taken from him.

"What about…_this _one?" he asked as he presented his next choice to her

Elena put her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"It's Mozart." Elijah countered

"I'm sorry, but now you're _really_ just showing your age!" Elena laughed

Elijah scoffed and replaced the record, resuming his search as her laughter subsided.

It didn't take long before he found exactly what he was looking for and a huge smile came across his face as he slipped the record out of the sleeve without even consulting her.

"Perfect," he said, as Elena watched him toss the sleeve on the top of the cabinet and lift the lid of the record player, placing the record on the turntable before moving the arm.

"What did you pick?" she asked amused, her eyes following him as he moved back toward the center of the living room as the record started to play.

The second the overture started, Elena smiled and rolled her eyes.

"_Seriously_?" she asked, "I have a closet Van Morrison fan in my presence?"

"Avalon Sunset is a _classic _record…you're parents had excellent taste."

"Alright, well, I guess the Soul Man lives," Elena teased, putting her hands on her hips as she watched him, "Get dancing, Soul Man."

Elijah stared at her for a moment, then stepped toward her, holding out his arms.

"This is not the kind of song you dance to alone," he said softly, studying her

Elena pulled back nervously, "_Oh, no_. I'm not a very good dance partner, Elijah—"

"If you don't dance with me, Elena, you'll force me to do the hand-jive," Elijah teased, still holding his arms out to her, "and I warn you now…it _won't_ be pretty."

Elena smiled with a sigh and nodded, relenting.

She placed her hands in his and he reversed his steps, leading her back to the center of the living room with him.

He could feel her heart beat quicken, but it wasn't out of fear.

He had been a vampire long enough to tell the difference.

"You can come closer," he whispered as he pulled her into a standard dance frame, "I don't bite."

Elena smirked nervously as she stepped in closer until their chests almost met and placed her hand in his as his right arm come around her back.

Then looking into her eyes, he began to lead her around the room in a slow waltz.

_These are the days of the endless summer  
>These are the days, the time is now<br>There is no past, there's only future  
>There's only here, there's only now…<em>

"You're _really_ good at this," Elena said, looking down to their feet as they moved

"When you're a thousand year-old vampire, you tend to have a lot of free time, Elena. Let's just say that I've taken dance lessons for _many_ years," Elijah said, "I even convinced Niklaus to go with me once or twice, but nothing really stuck. He's still a _horrible_ dancer!" then he lowered his voice as he leaned into her, "But don't say anything about it to him or he'll dagger you…"

Elena laughed

_Oh your smiling face, your gracious presence  
>The fires of spring are kindling bright<br>Oh the radiant heart and the song of glory  
>Crying freedom in the night…<em>

"We're going to try something… Are you ready?" Elijah asked with a chuckle

Elena's eyes widened, "What—"

But before she could finish, Elijah spun her out with one arm.

_These are the days by the sparkling river  
>His timely grace and our treasured find<br>_

"Come back…come back…" he smiled at her as she struggled to maintain her balance while he tried to twirl her back to him.

Finally, she made it, stumbling back into his arms and falling against his chest laughing.

_This is the love of the one magician  
>Who turned the water into wine…<em>

"Oh, I'm _terrible!_" Elena cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sure that I stepped on your feet."

"I'll polish my shoes later…I have no life." Elijah replied and Elena laughed, again.

"Well," Elena said, tossing her dark hair and catching her breath as Elijah continued moving them around the room once more, "let it be said that I gave you fair warning that I wouldn't be a very good dance partner."

"I think I'll survive. You know if you really wanted to learn, though, I could teach you. I'm a good teacher. I taught Rebekah and Henrik how to fight, I taught Kol how to hunt, Finn how to handle a bow and Ferrier horses and Niklaus…" he trailed off, closing his eyes.

Elena's face softened, "Elijah?"

"It's so different now," Elijah said in a low voice, shaking his head, trying not to meet her gaze, "I'm not the same and they're not the same. My mother forgave Niklaus, did I tell you that? She has told the others that you and your friends are not to be harmed—she wants peace. And I give you my word that I will do everything in my power to see that it is maintained."

Elena nodded, "Thank You."

"It's just—she thinks that our family can be together again like we once were, but we aren't human anymore, Elena. It will never be the same."

_These are the days of the endless dancing and the  
>Long walks on the summer night<br>These are the days of the true romancing  
>When I'm holding you oh, so tight… <em>

"That's not true. There's something human left inside all of you." Elena said softly, "The only thing that matters is what you do with it. Use it? Or let it go?"

"Niklaus and Kol, I fear are too far gone. Rebekah there is always hope for…but I don't know about Finn. He's always resented what we are. "

_These are the days by the sparkling river  
>His timely grace and our treasured find<br>This is the love of the one great magician  
>Who turned the water into wine…<em>

"And what about _you_?" Elena finally asked, "Do you think that there is hope for _you_?"

Elijah smirked shaking his head, "I've been too moral and cared too much my whole life, Elena. Niklaus calls me the 'immortal human'. He thinks me weak."

Elena pulled out of the dance frame and took his face in her hands.

"Look at me," she said softly, "Caring—caring about your family-and having honor and morals—that doesn't make you weak, Elijah. You're _no_t weak. Don't _ever _say that."

And suddenly, as his dark eyes met her chocolate ones in that moment, it was there again—the connection.

But this time, he didn't see Liliya, he saw _her—_he saw Elena_._

Elijah opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

He brought his hand down to stroke her cheek and she closed her eyes at his touch.

_These are the days now that we must savor  
>And we must enjoy as we can<br>These are the days that will last forever  
>You've got to hold them in your heart…<em>

He leaned in closer to her as she brought her hands to rest on his chest.

The air between them was electric as their foreheads touched, then her nose rested against his cheek, waiting for him to kiss her.

Her warmth and the sound of the blood rushing under her skin—it was intoxicating.

She was there, close to him, letting him come close to her.

Forget the Salvatore Brothers—forget Niklaus—it was just the two of them.

She wanted _him_ in that moment.

But would his heart rule over his head this time?

No. He was too moral for that.

_**You're a thousand year-old vampire and she's an eighteen year-old human girl…**_

_**You don't deserve her…**_

_**You loved and lost a human girl once—and once was enough…**_

Elijah took a deep breath and pulled his hand away from her cheek, releasing her from their embrace.

"I'm sorry…" he said in a soft, trembling voice, "I—I just can't…"

Elena opened her eyes and exhaled.

Then she watched as Elijah turned and, grabbing his suit jacket from the couch, bolted for the front door, leaving it open in his wake with Elena standing in the living room with the ghost of Liliya...

To avoid running into any of the family on his return, Elijah leaped from the main drive to the second story roof of the mansion, then walked along the shingles to his bedroom window. It was unlocked and he slid it open with no resistance.

He sighed and tossed his jacket in first, letting it land softly on the hardwood floor, then followed.

He closed the window behind him and drew the curtains, then turned around, his mind clouded with a thousand emotions all at once.  
>He let his eyes close, but when he did, all he saw was Elena—all he could feel was the heat off her skin—all he could smell was the blood rushing in her veins.<p>

He drew in a sharp breath and his eyes flew open.

He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair.

_No!_ He shouldn't feel like this.

It was _wrong._

He had to make it go away.

Why did she have to do that—make him _feel?_

And why did he _let _her?

Maybe Niklaus was right.

Maybe he _was_ weak.

Or was he only weak when it came to her?

Elijah cried out in anger and grabbed the antique vase from his bedside table and threw it against the wall hard, letting the vase smash into a million pieces, flowers and water going everywhere.

It made him feel instant gratification, but he knew that violence would not make these feelings for Elena go away, only his frustration.

"Elijah? Are you alright?"

Elijah turned and saw Finn in his bedroom doorway. He must have been in the hallway and heard the vase smash.

"Please, Finn... _Not now_." Elijah said, looking away and bringing the thumb and index fingers of his right hand to the bridge of his nose.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Finn asked, stepping forward, his eyes softening in concern.

But Elijah didn't need his brother's concern, he needed to be alone.

"Finn, _please_ just leave me be!" Elijah cried, trying hard to keep the emotion from his voice as he quickly stood and with vampire speed moved to the doorway.

He hit his brother square in the chest with his right hand, pushing him back through the threshold before slamming the bedroom door hard in his face.

Then, with his back against the walnut, Elijah slid down to the floor and let himself crumble.


	8. Chapter 8

"Elijah_…_"

Elijah opened one eye and saw his younger brother's face over him

"What do _you_ want?" he scoffed, taking in a deep breath as he turned is head to his bedside table to look at the clock, "Ugh…at _six_ in the morning?"

"You've always known I'm an early riser," Niklaus said with a cheeky smile then clapped his hands, "Now, get up! Let's go! Chop, chop!"

"No." Elijah said sternly, turning his back on his brother and pulling one of the large pillows over his head.

"Elijah!" Niklaus rolled his eyes, trying to pull the pillow off, but Elijah kept a firm grip.

"Go…_away_…" Elijah grumbled under the pillow

"Rough night?" Niklaus asked with a raised eyebrow, eying the empty bottle of bourbon on the bedside table and the crumpled suit his brother had slept in.

Elijah groaned under the pillow.

"I'm not asking again, Elijah. Now get up, get dressed, and get _sober_," Niklaus said, pulling back, "We've got things to do. Mother is planning on throwing some ridiculous ball tonight."

"What?" Elijah asked in confusion, rolling over to face his brother, removing the pillow from his head.

"I _know,_" Niklaus said rolling his eyes, again, as he walked over to Elijah's closet and threw open the doors, "She cornered me this morning and asked me to run some last minute errands for her—flowers, dresses, tuxes, Blah! Blah! Blah! I'm telling you, a thousand years on the other side has driven her _completely_ out of her gull."

Niklaus then disappeared into the closet and returned seconds later with a suit over his arm.

"_But, _she thinks it's a sign of goodwill to our neighbors or some such nonsense. In any case, bottom line—we are trapped and won't get out of going. Now, I'm not going into town to look at flower arrangements by myself…because that would look creepy," he said smiling at Elijah as he took the suit off of its hanger and tossed it onto the end of the bed, "So let's go! You're coming with! _Up!_"

Elijah sighed, then sat up blinking, "Fine."

"Fabulous!" Niklaus said, walking over to the window and throwing open the curtains, casting large amounts of sunlight into the room.

"_Ahh!_" Elijah shouted, shielding his eyes with the pillow

"Sorry" Niklaus smiled, putting his hands up and backing away from the window, "I'll be downstairs when you're ready, Your Majesty."

Elijah grumbled behind the pillow

"If you make it snappy, I'll buy you an Egg McMuffin on the way..." Niklaus teased

Elijah grunted and threw the pillow at him and Niklaus caught it with a laugh before tossing it onto a nearby chair as he turned and left the room.

_Of course_ his brother needed him today after the night he'd had. That has always been his luck for a thousand years.

"Bloody Hell!" Elijah sighed fell back on the mattress...

A few minutes later, he was descending the stairs to main foyer, where he met Kol at the bottom of the landing as he was heading up.

"Well, aren't _we_ chipper this morning?" he said in a facetious tone, clearly sensing Elijah's mood.

Elijah eyed him before turning toward the open front door where Niklaus was waiting in the threshold.

"You owe me an Egg McMuffin," Elijah said with a smirk as he passed his brother and headed out toward the car.

Niklaus smiled and followed Elijah down the front steps, closing the front door behind them.

They found a florist before ten, then stopped by a Men's formal wear store to make an appointment for a tailor to come to their house that afternoon to do fittings for their tuxes.

It took some persuasion. They were booked and didn't have appointments available until the following week.

Niklaus was going to compel the owner, but Elijah stopped him and pulled out his wallet instead.

That did the trick just as well as compulsion and the man even gave Elijah free shoe polish.

This made Niklaus laugh the whole way back to the car.

He knew how much Elijah obsessed over his appearance, _especially _his shoes.

Their next stop was a women's boutique.

To Elijah's amusement, Klaus walked in like he owned the place and in no time, a pretty red-head was helping him choose dresses. She doted on him and flirted with him, succumbing to his charms like they all did.

Meanwhile, Elijah walked through the rows and rows of seemingly endless dresses on the other side of the store by himself.

_**No wonder it took women so long to shop for a dress**_, he thought, _**the possibilities are endless**_…

Elijah narrowed his eyes as he thumbed through the dresses, one by one, looking intently—but not it seemed, as intently as Niklaus.

After a mere ten minutes, Niklaus seemed to have made a decision—first, a modest, black, off the shoulder, full length ball gown with a crested diamond that Elijah

presumed was for their mother and second, a long, gray and blue chiffon a-line ball gown with a jewel encrusted bodice.

"And they will need gloves…" the red-head smiled as she took the blue dress off the hanger and threw it over her arm as Elijah came to his brother's side.

"Add them on sweetheart," Niklaus winked and watched as the woman walked away to the accessories room.

"That's a beautiful dress…but Rebekah _hates_ blue," Elijah said, narrowing his eyes at his brother and casting a knowing smirk.

Niklaus smiled and nodded, clearly sensing that he had been caught.

He leaned in to his brother and whispered, "It's for a friend of mine. I'm hoping to see her at the ball tonight."

Elijah raised an eyebrow, "I presume she is _very_ pretty?"

Niklaus looked down in thought and bit his lip, "She's _stunning,_ Elijah."

_**This really must be some girl if she has Niklaus acting like this**_…

There had been many girls over the centuries.

Niklaus was quite charming and likable when he wanted to be, but it was often a facade—only a mask.

He had always used women.

But, this seemed different. And somehow, it was nice to see this side to Niklaus.

It was one Elijah hadn't seen in a long time, not since they were human—kind and vulnerable.

"May I inquire as to the young lady's name?" Elijah asked, intrigued

"You'll see her tonight…that is, _if _she comes…" Niklaus said, smiling at his brother with soft eyes, "She is…well, she's _different _than the others, Elijah—she's _real_. And one not easily tamed. But, I have to say that I enjoy the challenge."

"Well, I think you're all set, Mr. Mikaelson," the red-head woman interrupted, emerging from the accessory room with her blinding smile and the promised gloves draped over the top of the dresses she held in her arms, "Unless there is anything else I can get for you, Gentlemen?"

Elijah turned to the woman and smiled, "Yes, there is. I would like the green couture dress in the window in a size nine, Please."

"Of course," the woman grinned happily, "And might I say, you have _excellent _taste."

"Thank You." Elijah replied as he watched her walk past them toward the front display window

Niklaus chuckled, "So you're bringing a date too, are you?"

"No." Elijah smirked, placing his hands in his pockets, "_One _of us has to keep our sister from going to the ball naked."

After their errands were done, Niklaus convinced Elijah to sit with him for coffee at a little cafe on Blanchard Street.

It was a beautiful day and the cafe was mostly empty.

They sat at a table with a canopy outside in a little fenced in area, watching the citizens of Mystic Falls pass on the nearby sidewalk.

Elijah took a sip of his cappuccino and looked over at Niklaus, who was staring at him intently.

"_What?_" Elijah asked with a smirk

"Something's going on with you, Elijah," Niklaus observed, raising an eyebrow

Elijah straightened in his chair and pulled at his cufflinks out of nervous habit.

"I've just got a lot on my mind…" Elijah said in a low voice

Niklaus eyed his brother for a moment then took a sip of his own coffee.

"Like what?" he asked, trying to be nonchalant as he lowered his cup

Elijah took a breath.  
>Niklaus was always trying to stay one step ahead of everyone. And now that his siblings were back and they not only had threatened his life, but threatened to leave him and disappear, he was trying harder than ever to know just what he was up against and what move he should make next.<p>

Old habits die hard, but he should know by now, that Elijah was always one step ahead of _him._

"It's none of your concern." Elijah said, bringing his cup to his lips.

"Elijah, come on, _don't_ do that." Niklaus said, leaning back in his chair, "I saw the empty bourbon bottle on the bedside table and you're strictly a 'two tumbler' kind of guy…always have been. _Something _is going on with you."

"Like what?" Elijah countered

"You tell me." Klaus shrugged

"Well, let's see…" Elijah said, sitting forward, "Like, perhaps trying to figure out exactly _why_ and _how_ our Mother is back…Trying to keep Kol under house arrest so that he doesn't pull another stunt like he did in Prague—"

"Ahh…yes…" Niklaus mused, looking up into the late morning sun, "Prague."

"Then there is trying to understand Finn—"

"That's a riddle wrapped in an enigma inside a Cracker Jack box…" Niklaus smirked

"And then of course, Rebekah got drunk last night and tried to kill Elena—"

"_What?_" Niklaus froze, the anger rising in his face as he uncrossed his arms and sat up immediately.

Elijah closed his eyes and raised a hand to steady his brother.

"It's alright, Niklaus. I followed her and stopped her from doing anything rash—"

"And Elena?" Niklaus inquired, leaning across the table

Elijah's nostrils flared in anger.

How _dare_ he ask about Elena.

He didn't care about what happened to her—at least not as a _person_.

All he cared about was being able to sire his future hybrids.

But, Elijah took a breath and calmed himself quickly.

"Elena's fine. A little shook up, but fine," he said, trying to keep his voice even

"Bullocks…" Niklaus closed his eyes and lowered his voice, "This could mean trouble with The Salvatore Brothers and that's all I _need _right now."

"Don't worry about the Salvatore Brothers… If there is any trouble, I'll handle it." Elijah said smoothly

Niklaus took another sip of his coffee and rolled his eyes, "Well, this is just _perfect_. Nothing can ever be simple around here can it? We can't just magically awaken our siblings and have everything pop up daisies, can we? Heaven forbid we ask for peace…because peace would be _too _peaceful! _Oh, no_…everything has to be _complicated_!"

"Oh, what a deadly web you weave…" Elijah smirked under his breath as he took another sip of his cappuccino

Niklaus eyed his brother for a moment, then pulled a money clip out of his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill and plopped it down in the center of the table. He pushed back his chair and stood, shoving the money back into his blue jean pocket.

"I've got one more errand to attend to," he said flatly, "I'll meet you at home."


	9. Chapter 9

Elijah walked through the front door around noon to find Kol sitting on the bottom of the staircase.

"There you are!" Kol smiled, grabbing hold of the banister and lifting himself up, "I've been waiting for you."

"I was out," Elijah said sternly, turning away and heading toward the back parlor, seemingly trying to avoid his brother.

"Elijah…" Kol said, following his brother and grabbing his arm, "Please, don't ignore me… Look, I'm sorry about last night—"

Elijah pulled his arm harshly out of his brother's grasp and shot him an angry look.

"_Don't._" He said in a voice seething with warning, "Because you're _not_."

Kol stepped back and straightened

For the last thousand years, Elijah had been the one sibling who had always been able to see right through his brothers and sister—especially Kol.

And Kol knew it.

Kol_ was_ a monster and Elijah had given him every chance in every way possible way to avoid killing his own brother for the common good.

Perhaps, over the centuries, he had tried _too hard_.

Kol looked down and took a breath, "_Fine_. You're right. I'm not."

Elijah nodded, then turned and continued on his path toward the parlor, Kol trailing behind.

"So you've heard about the party tonight, I presume?" Kol asked as he watched Elijah pull a full length mirror out of one of the closets.

"Yes. Niklaus and I were out on some errands for Mother this morning." Elijah responded, pulling the mirror into position, then turning back to Kol.

"Well, it seems Elena Gilbert has been invited—"

"_What?_ How do you know this?" Elijah's asked, concerned

"Because I delivered the invite _personally_," Kol smirked

With vampire speed, Elijah grabbed Kol by the throat, pinning him against the far wall near the fireplace.

"Relax!" Kol cried, struggling under Elijah's powerful grip as he stared into his brother's angry face, "Do you really think that Finn would let me leave the mansion _alone_? He went with me, we delivered all the invites, including hers, and came straight home…ask him!"

Elijah straightened and pulled back with grunt, reluctantly releasing his brother.

Kol coughed and rubbed his neck, "But, not before I heard something you should know."

Elijah's eyes narrowed.

His interest was piqued, but he didn't want to lead Kol on that it was.

"Go on…" he said, trying to keep his voice even

"When I delivered the invite to Elena's house, the Salvatore brothers were there. They were talking to her about Mother being in the coffin-why they think she's back—how Elena _trusts _you..."

He smiled, eying Elijah, "I guess old habits die hard, eh?"

Elijah took a measured step toward his brother, the anger brooding in his eyes.

"_Anyway_," Kol continued, sensing that Elijah's patience was running thin, "that's not the juicy morsel…"

He moved away from the wall and looked tentatively over his shoulder, then leaned in to his brother, lowering his voice as if worried of being overheard.

"Elena read a note that was written on the back of the invite. It would appear that Mother has invited Elena to the ball _personally_—she wants to meet with her."

Elijah's mind immediately raced.

What was his mother planning? And why would she need Elena?

Whatever it was, his gut was telling him, his assumptions were right all along about her return.

It couldn't be good.

Then his suspicions turned to Kol.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked

"Because I agree with you that something is clearly _off_ with Mother—her return—how's she's behaving—_everything_... Because her wanting to speak with Elena, Liliya's _doppelganger, _is no coincidence... And well, mostly because you're the only person around here that I trust to figure out just what the bloody hell is going on!"

Elijah blinked for a moment, taking in his brother's words.

"You trust me?"

It was hard to believe that Kol Mikaelson, who terrorized over thirty countries and killed thousands of people in his millennium on this earth, trusted or needed anyone.

Kol's eyes met Elijah's for a moment, and for the first time in centuries, Elijah saw his brother—his _real _brother—the one who died the night they were turned into vampires.

"Human or vampire… you are the only one who has always had my back, Elijah."

_**Sibiu, Romanian Province of Transylvania—1490**_

_Niklaus walked swiftly through the dark woods at the foot of the mountains wielding a torch in his right hand, his eyes lowered, focusing intently on the ground. _

"_Niklaus! Over here!" _

_Niklaus lifted his head and looked back over his shoulder to Elijah, who was a few hundred yards below him in the lower part of thicket. _

_With vampire speed, Niklaus was soon at the bottom of the hill and at his brother's side. _

"_They went this way." Elijah said, lowering his torch to the trail their brother had left behind—footsteps in the wet soil, broken foliage and a thick trail of blood—leading up the other side of the steep hill. _

"_Do you think she's still alive?" Niklaus asked, his eyes narrowing _

"_With the amount of blood here and the blood we found near the Gypsy encampment," Elijah shook his head, "Not likely." _

_Niklaus closed his eyes in anger, "Of course, he has to go into a self-destructive pattern the moment we arrive here! Mikael is still on my trail, Elijah, and Kol's little rampages throughout Eastern Europe are only making it easier for him to find me!"_

_Elijah stepped forward quickly and shoved his hand inside his brother's leather vest, removing the weapon Niklaus had hidden there. _

"_Is that why you brought THIS?" Elijah raised an eyebrow as he held the silver dagger up, its blade reflecting under the torch light. _

"_You're treachery knows no bounds, does it Niklaus?" he seethed, before shoving the dagger into the holster on his belt. _

"_Elijah, he's a monster and he has to be stopped!" Niklaus cried in anger, "You saw what he left behind at the Gypsy camp—he can't be allowed to roam free any longer!"_

"_May I remind you, Niklaus, that Kol is not the only MONSTER around here?" Elijah countered viciously, looking his brother square in the eye._

_Niklaus took a breath and stepped back, clearly stung by his brother's words.  
><em>

_There was a moment of silence as the two brothers avoided each others gaze. _

_Then Niklaus spoke. _

"_Well, then what do you propose to do about him?" _

"_I don't know…" Elijah said in a low voice as he turned from his brother and held his torch up into the night, starting to follow Kol's trail up the hillside._

_They followed the trail for nearly an hour before they reached the top of the lower part of the Carpathian Mountains. _

_It was there, on the plateau near the cliff's edge that they found their younger brother, draining the teenage gypsy girl he had taken as his souvenir. _

_Kol dropped her lifeless onto the ground when he sensed Elijah and Niklaus' presence and turned around to face them. _

"_Just what the Bloody Hell do you think you're doing?" Niklaus asked as he approached Kol, "You've risked our exposure with your little escape tonight…And the night before that! oh, yes…AND THE NIGHT BEFORE THAT! You've left bodies from here to Bucharest! The perfect trail for Mikael to follow!" _

"_I got bored." Kol shrugged, casting a hard glance at his brother_

"_Niklaus is right, Kol," Elijah interjected, trying to play mediator, "You forget yourself—"  
><em>

"_No, Elijah," Kol smiled, his features –the lines under his eyes and the blood covering his mouth and chin—still prominent under the glare of Niklaus' torch, "I'm being true to what I am. I've decided that I can't just turn it off, so I'm going to EMBRACE it." _

"_Kol, I know that you are lost and confused right now." Elijah pleaded, moving closer, "We're your brothers—let us help you—"  
><em>

"_Have you not been listening to a word I've said?" Kol looked from Elijah to Niklaus, "You CAN'T help me and I don't WANT to be helped! I like being a monster."_

"_Alright," Niklaus said, angrily, moving forward to grab his younger brother, "I've heard enough of this prattle…"_

_But before he could reach him, Kol smiled and backed to the edge of the cliff, then with a salute, threw himself off of it. _

_Niklaus immediately froze. _

"_No!" Elijah cried, throwing his torch aside, and running for the cliff with vampire speed, sliding over the edge after Kol…_

_Elijah let out a grunt as he hit hard against the side of the cliff face._

_After a moment, he inhaled sharply and opened his eyes against the raging wind around him. _

_He looked down and saw Kol, dangling helplessly below him—he was gripping his brother's right forearm in his left hand. _

_He let out a sigh of relief and laid his head against his arm right arm, but soon realized that he, himself, wasn't grasping onto anything. _

_Elijah quickly looked up to the top of the cliff's edge. _

_There he saw Niklaus, laying on his stomach, leaning over the edge, his face contorted in effort as he held on to Elijah's right arm, supporting the weight of both of his brothers._

_Elijah knew he wouldn't be able to hold on for long. _

"_Kol!" Elijah cried down to his youngest brother, "I'm going to count to three and then try to swing you up onto the edge!" _

"_No!" Kol screamed, struggling against Elijah's grip, "Just let me go!" _

_Elijah closed his eyes and shook his head. _

_"I'm not leaving here without you!" he yelled  
><em>

_Kol looked up and met Elijah's eyes, his nose flaring angrily, "I choose this fate, Elijah!"_

"_Well, I have a choice, too!" Elijah cried, "And I choose not to give up on you!" _

_Kol looked sternly up at his brother for a moment then closed his eyes. _

"_You are my brother, Kol!" Elijah yelled, "I've never let go before and I'm NOT letting go now!" _

"_Elijah! You'll have to do something fast! I can't hold on much longer!" Niklaus cried_

_Elijah looked down to Kol, "Now, on the count of three!" _

_Kol nodded reluctantly_

_Elijah closed his eyes and took a breath, steadying himself. _

_If it there was ever a time he needed his vampire strength…it was now. _

"_One!" _

_Elijah grunted as he moved his left arm and his brother in a gliding motion…_

"_Two!" _

_Finally, he started picking up momentum…_

"_Three!" _

_Elijah expelled all of his strength and let go, tossing his brother up over top of himself. _

_There was a loud thud and Elijah watched as Kol landed hard on his back next to Niklaus on the cliff's edge. _

"_Give me your other hand!" Niklaus cried down to his older brother and Elijah weakly moved his left arm over his head and grabbed hold of Niklaus' free forearm. _

"_Kol!" Niklaus yelled over his shoulder,"Grab my legs and pull!" _

_Kol stood quickly and obeyed. _

_In no time, Elijah was moving toward the top of the cliff's edge. _

_Then, with one final heave, the three of them all fell back on the ledge next to each other, catching their breath. _

_After a moment, Kol turned his head and looked over to his brothers with sad eyes. _

"_You should have just let me fall." _


	10. Chapter 10

The tailor arrived at the house a half hour later with an assistant and a stylist their mother had hired for herself and Rebekah soon followed.

Elijah rounded up his siblings and sent them to the back parlor.

Rebekah shot Elijah a non-chalant and annoyed look a she arrived last and took a seat on the sofa as she watched the stylist start painting her nails. He knew that she still had her back up from his rescue of Elena the previous night. Rebekah's feelings always got hurt so easily, but Elijah knew she wouldn't stay mad at him forever.

Kol, always as vain as a prince, wanted to be fitted for his tux first. So, Kol and Finn were attended by the tailor and his assistant as Elijah waited his turn, standing in the corner by the fireplace and putting the free shoe polish he had gotten earlier that morning to good use shining his black dress shoes, every once in a while eying them under the light of the chandelier to make sure he hadn't missed any spots.

"Dear Lord, humans wear their pants _so _tight now…" Finn mused as the tailor checked the seam at his waistline, "It's a wonder they can do anything _in_ them!"

Elijah smirked

"You should see the women's clothes." Rebekah smiled as she watched the stylist paint a clear top coat on her right hand.

"Well, times _have _changed, Finn," Kol chuckled as the tailor slid his tuxedo jacket on over his shoulders, "it's not like they ride horses or get into sword fights every day."

"Yes… Yes…poke fun at the brother who only watched television for the first time last night." Finn smirked

"And what did you think?" Elijah asked, lowering the shoe in his left hand and turning to his brother.

"Of television?" Finn asked and Elijah nodded

Finn made an unimpressed look and shook his head.

"Yeah, me neither…" Elijah smiled and turned back to the side table next to the sofa to retrieve more shoe polish

"There are just _so many_ channels," Finn said furrowing his brow as he watched the tailor's assistant kneel down to take in the hem of his pant legs, then looked up to his siblings, "That _is_ what they call them—am I right? Channels?"

Rebekah burst out laughing, "Oh, God, he's worse than someone's _grandfather_!"

"Leave him be." Elijah said, trying to hold back his own laughter as he returned to polishing his shoes under the light.

"Rebekah," Kol smirked, eying himself in the full length mirror Elijah had pulled from the closet earlier as the tailor put the finishing pins in the tail of his jacket, "Tell me how _handsome_ I am!"

"Now, Kol," Rebekah said as the stylist left her side and she eyed her drying nails, "You know I can't be compelled."

Finn shot Elijah a look and they both smiled.

But the good natured banner between siblings didn't last long.

Elijah sensed his brother's arrival home even before he burst through the door and looked directly at Rebekah as he crossed the room.

"You went after, Elena! What is _wrong_ with you?" Niklaus seethed in a low angry voice, "Do you want another dagger in your heart?"

To Kol's credit and Elijah's surprise, the youngest Mikaelson came to his sister's rescue.

Fitting, Elijah thought, since it was really Kol's plan to kill Elena to begin with—he had practically used Rebekah like a puppet.

"Again with the dagger threats?" Kol countered, sitting himself on a nearby ottoman, "Don't you have any other tricks?"

"Oh, go back to staring at yourself!" Niklaus replied haughtily, turning back to his brother

"And who are you?" Kol shot back in a cool manner, "My father?"

"No, Kol" Niklaus said, stepping forward, "But you're in _my_ house."

Finn straightened and looked to Elijah, silently asking his older brother if they should intervene.

Elijah lowered his shoe, then looked back at Finn out of the corner of his eye and shook his head.

He wanted to see how this played out.

He knew that Niklaus wouldn't dare let it come to blows with Kol. Kol was a better fighter than he was—always had been.

"Well, then perhaps we should go outside." Kol challenged as he stood and crossed the room, stopping within inches of Niklaus's face.

The two of them stood there staring at each other for a few moments before their Mother entered the doorway.

"_Enough_," she said in a stern tone, eying her sons

There was another silence before she looked to her second oldest.

"Niklaus…come…" she said as she turned and walked through the threshold into the adjoining front parlor.

Elijah and his siblings watched as their brother followed their mother quickly from the room.

Kol looked to Rebekah and she gave him a small smile, then he turned to the tailor.

"Are we done here?" he asked cooly

"Yes." The man replied, "You can get undressed now."

Kol nodded and left the room

Elijah took a breath and returned to finishing his shoes, willing himself not to listen to his brother and mother's conversation in the next room and somehow he knew that his siblings were trying not to either and that they were all failing miserably.

A few moments of silence passed as they all tuned their hearing to the conversation in the next room.

When it turned out to be nothing but a soft scolding and an inquiry by their mother as to Niklaus' date to the ball, Rebekah stood up from her spot on the sofa.

"Well," she said with a smirk, "Nik isn't the _only_ one with a potential date tonight. I've got an invite to deliver. I'll see you all on the flip side."

"Rebekah," Elijah said, eying his sister as she looked back over her shoulder to him, "Oppfører deg selv."

"Of course, El Capitan" Rebekah smiled and mock saluted

Elijah smirked as he watched her leave the room.

Finn stepped down from the step stool and walked over to the mirror, looking himself over as the tailor's assistant brought a tuxedo jacket over his shoulders and smoothed out the arms.

"So, Elijah, do _you_ have a date?" he smirked with a raised eyebrow through the glass

"No." Elijah smiled, "Do you?"

"No." Finn sighed, straightening the lapels of his jacket, "I thought I could live vicariously through you."

Elijah put down his newly polished shoes and closed the tin of shoe polish on the table beside him as the tailor waved him over for his fitting.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Ah, well," Finn mused, looking over his shoulder to his older brother, "Would you rather take bets, instead?"

"On what?" Elijah asked curiously as he removed his blue tie and dress shirt

"On how long it takes for Nik and Rebekah to scare off their dates?"

There was a silence as they eyed each other for a moment.

Elijah narrowed his eyes at Finn as he buttoned his white tuxedo dress shirt.

"An _hour_…" he finally said with a smile.

Finn rolled his eyes and turned back to face himself in the mirror, "That's _awfully_ generous, don't you think?"


	11. Chapter 11

"Finn."

Elijah and Finn both looked over their shoulder and saw their mother standing in the doorway leading to the foyer.

"When you are finished, I need you to help me with something upstairs."

Elijah stepped forward, trying to keep his face placid and prevent his suspicion from showing.

"I haven't started my fitting, Mother," he said, "I would be happy to help you—"

"No," Esther said quickly, her voice rising, but then smiled kindly, lowering it, "Finn will do. The caterer and the florist will be arriving soon for our event this evening, Elijah, and I'll need you to show them where to set up and see that they have what they need while I prepare myself."

Elijah nodded and stepped back to the rack of tuxedos as the tailor handed him his slacks and Esther gave Finn one last look before making her way to the stairway and starting up the stairs.

"Well, that was strange." Elijah said under his breath, "What does she have you doing up there?"

Finn's face fell in the mirror and he looked away for a moment before answering with a manufactured smile, "Nothing special. Last time she asked me to move a few pieces of furniture for her."

"I see." Elijah said quietly, looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye as he moved toward the front parlor bathroom to change.

Finn was a _terrible_ liar.

By the time Elijah's suit had been fitted, Finn had already left to go upstairs.

Elijah showed the tailor and his assistant to the door, then made his way to the front parlor and Niklaus' study and chose a book off of the bookshelf, seating himself in the big brown leather chair in the corner of the room.

For the two hours, he read, trying desperately to push the anxiety out of his mind—anxiety about what, if anything, his mother and brother were planning, anxiety about Kol behaving properly in such a social setting as a ball, but mostly anxiety about seeing Elena.

Surely she would want some kind of explanation for what happened between them.

Somehow, the previous nights 'almost kiss' seemed to mean more to both of them than the passionate kiss they had shared before they were interrupted by Stefan in Elijah's apartment the night of the ritual.

That night, speaking to her for the first time about Liliya had brought up such strong memories for him that when she comforted him and they stood within inches of each other, all Elijah could see when he looked at Elena was Liliya.

And his longing, his pain, his loneliness…all of it culminated into the kiss they shared and somehow, Elena knew it, too. It was evident when she left Elijah to meet her fate as Klaus' sacrifice without regret or need for analysis from him about what had happened between them.

But, that was _then._

And now, his gut was telling him that tonight she may need real answers.

Elijah closed his eyes and rested the book on his lap.

He had looked at her _different_ last night, he knew he had.

And she had seen it.

It had finally happened.

He had seen _her_ before that 'almost kiss'—Elena—not Liliya.

Elijah could remember vividly the first time he saw Katerina Petrova five hundred years earlier.

She had taken his breath away with her uncanny resemblance to Liliya, right down to the waves in her hair and the flecks of green in her eyes.

He had cared for her yes—mostly because he knew what Niklaus planned to do with her—but he did not think he felt anything else for her. And if there _were_ any feelings for Katerina, it was born out of a longing for someone who no longer existed.

It had been the same way with Elena.

The moment he saw her in the abandoned mansion, she had stunned him.

And during their initial interactions, he tried to remain guarded, but slowly he began to see the qualities he had once seen in the girl he loved over a thousand years ago.

Liliya's strong personality, her selflessness, her courage, her compassion…all soon began to show in Elena where they never had in Katerina.

Katerina knew how to use men for her own gain—she was selfish and reckless—someone completely obsessed with self-preservation.

Elena was different and Elijah longed to be closer to her because of this—he would go so far as to admit to an attraction.

But the more time he spent with her, the more he also began to see _Elena_.

And Elena, herself as her own entity, was just as wonderful.

Suddenly, the doorbell broke his thoughts and Elijah, sighing in quiet relief to be distracted from Elena for the time being, stood quickly and tossed the book onto Niklaus' desk.

As he crossed the foyer to the front door, he immediately smelled humans behind the walnut and knew it had to be the worker bees arriving to get everything ready for the evening's festivities…

After two hours of answering the door and leading people around by the nose, Elijah was over it.

He walked out into the foyer and eyed the grandfather clock—it was almost 6pm.

He grabbed the tuxes the tailor had dropped by in the middle of the chaos with the florist and the caterer from where he had tossed them over the staircase banister and threw them over his arm before heading up to his room to get ready.

When he reached the main hallway, he first knocked on Finn's door.

When there was no response, he opened it and found the room empty. He hung his brother's tuxedo over his closet door and left the room.

As he headed down the hall to Kol's room, he ran into Rebekah as she flew out of her bedroom door in her ball gown, looking from one end of the hall to the other.

"_Finally_!" she smiled when Elijah approached, "A man."

Elijah stopped and smirked, shifting the tuxes in his arms, "Well, I don't know if you would call me a _man_…technically—"

"Fine… a _vampire,"_ she said, rolling her eyes and turning her back to him, pulling her mane styled hair over one shoulder,"I just need a strong pair of hands to zip up this bloody contraption!"

Elijah sighed, laying the tuxedos carefully over the back of a chair in the hall and stepped forward.

"Have you seen Finn?" he inquired as he took the zipper of her dress in both hands, pulling the fabric together

"I saw him and Mother go into her quarters hours ago, but he's probably in his bedroom now getting ready for the ball, why?" Rebekah asked as Elijah pulled up the remainder of the zipper and hooked the top of her bodice.

"He wasn't there. I just left his tux." Elijah said as Rebekah turned around and faced him, "I'm worried about him, Rebekah. He's behaving rather oddly—"

Rebekah rubbed the side her brother's arm and eyed him, "What is with your paranoia all of a sudden? First, Mother and now, Finn?"

Elijah shook his head.

He knew he wasn't paranoid, his gut feelings were never wrong.

But he couldn't let on to Rebekah, so he tried to deflect her as best as possible. She was easy to wield. Finn or Kol could easily put her in their pocket.

"I don't know," he said "I—I guess I'm just overwhelmed by everything that's happened. The plan's changed now that Mother has returned and I suppose I'm trying to adjust. It's just hard to know who to trust."

Rebekah nodded.

"Well you know you can trust me, right?" she asked, trying to meet his gaze.

"Can I?" Elijah smirked

"Look, _I'm sorry_ about last night," Rebekah lamented, "I know I let you down—"

Elijah stepped forward and took Rebekah's face in his hands, "_Stillhet_, Rebekah. You shouldn't apologize for who you are, especially if you're not truly sorry for your actions. You need to learn to control your emotions, little sister. You let your temper get the better of you—and you let _others_ get the better of you, as well."

"I know," Rebekah smirked, knowing that Elijah had seen right through her. "I've been around Niklaus too long."

Elijah released her face and stepped back.

"Well, your temper hasn't affected your beauty, that much is for certain" He smiled as he eyed his sister's dress, "You look beautiful, tonight, Rebekah. And you're date will be affected, no doubt."

Rebekah sighed and Elijah was sure if she still had the ability, his sister would be blushing.

"You're _biased_," she said as she turned back toward her bedroom

"But, I have good taste in women's formal wear." Elijah quipped as he moved to retrieve the tuxes...

When Elijah left Rebekah, he made his way to the end of the hall and knocked on Kol's door.

"Kol?"

A few moments later, Kol opened the door as he lowered an empty blood bag from his lips, the lines under his eyes slowing disappearing.

Elijah studied Kol for a moment then brushed past him into the room.

"I have your tuxedo," he said, as he laid it across Kol's bed.

"Thank You." Kol replied with a smile, tossing the blood bag into a nearby trashcan and walking past Elijah to his tuxedo, starting to unzip the cover as his brother made his way over to the trashcan.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked in a low voice, staring at the contents inside

"Fine," Kol shrugged, not taking his eyes off of his tux as he removed the hangers

"You've consumed quite a large of amount blood here, Kol." Elijah replied, looking back over his shoulder at his brother.

"Well, you want me to play nice with the tasty treats tonight, Elijah, so I had dinner early. Just a few blood bags—the rest are from the last couple of days," Kol smirked, then stepped forward, waving his hand at his brother, "Now, if you don't mind, I must make myself _dashing_ so that all the human women will _swoon _over me…shoo! shoo!"

Elijah nodded with a small smile and made his way to the bedroom door.

As he closed it behind him, his smile faded and he let out a sigh.

Kol was lying to him, too.

There were over thirty blood bags in that trashcan—all fresh.

Kol wasn't having "dinner". He was binging.

It was common with vampires like his brother who had completely turned their back on their humanity and had no self control.

If Mystic Falls thought Damon and Stefan Salvatore were bad off the wagon, they hadn't seen Kol Mikaelson.


	12. Chapter 12

The guests started arriving just after 7pm and, as his Mother wanted to stay out of the limelight as much as possible, Elijah and Niklaus made most of the duty rounds.

It was boring and quite tedious, but he did it with as much courtesy as he could muster.

He looked around in the crowd as he moved from one guest to the other, giving polite greetings and nods, hoping that he would see Elena at some point, but he didn't.

He was standing in a far corner of the room around 8:30, taking a much deserved sip from the bourbon the bartender had poured for him, when Rebekah walked up with her date.

It was Matt Donovan, the boy Niklaus wanted to mate Elena with to continue the Petrova bloodline.

Elijah nearly shot the liquor out of his nose at the irony.

"Elijah, may I introduce my escort for the evening? This is Matt Donovan" Rebekah smiled, her arm entwined in the tall, blonde human's muscular one.

Elijah extended his free hand out and Matt shook it.

"Matt, this is my older brother, Elijah Mikaelson."

"It's nice to meet you," Matt said with a hint of fear in his voice

Elijah smiled, trying to put him at ease, "The pleasure is mine."

_Rebekah had to have something up her sleeve, tonight,_ Elijah thought as he eyed them together, _Why else would she bring one of the Elena's friends to the ball?_

But, the way she looked after him, as he excused himself and left her side to get her a drink, she seemed genuinely taken with him.

Elijah decided he would let it go for now and keep just keep an eye on her.

After Matt left, Rebekah turned back to her brother.

"Niklaus wanted me to tell you that it's time for the announcement of the inaugural dance."

"What kind of dance will it be?" Elijah asked curiously as he took the last swig of his bourbon and looked toward the main staircase where Niklaus and Kol were already standing.

"A Vienna waltz" Rebekah smiled as she left his side and headed toward the staircase, "Well…a Vienna waltz with a _modern _twist."

Elijah smirked. His Mother had placed Rebekah in charge of choosing the commencing dance and the accompanying music. He should have expected as much.

"I'll be there in a moment," he said, sitting his bourbon on a passing waiter's tray and trading it for a glass of white wine.

He then headed up the stairs and joined the rest of his family.

"If I may have everyone's attention…"

The room suddenly became quiet and he as he scanned the crowd below him over the banister, he finally saw her—Elena.

She had been standing at the bar, talking with his brother, Finn.

She now turned to face him and his breath caught.

She was beautiful… dressed in a dark black and copper colored ball gown with her hair curled and resting over her left shoulder.

Elijah soon realized that everyone was waiting for him to speak.

"Welcome. Thank You for joining us." He smiled at the crowd, then turned toward the top of the stairs when he sensed his Mother's presence, "You know, whenever my Mother brings our family together like this… it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries old waltz. So, if all of you could please find yourselves a partner…Please join us in the ballroom."

Then Elijah turned and quickly descended the stairs.

Perhaps, he could catch Elena before the waltz and speak with her.

Elijah finished his wine as he reached the staircase landing.

He looked across the room and spotted Elena, but before he could go to her, his path was quickly blocked as a tall, dark figure in a tux stepped in front of her.

It was Damon Salvatore.

Elijah tuned in to their conversation.

"_Don't even think about it." Damon said _

"_She wants to see me, alone, Damon," Elena replied_

Elijah looked back to the top of the staircase as he watched his Mother make her way back to her quarters. He knew immediately who Elena meant.

Kol had been right. His Mother wished to speak to Elena.

"_Well, it sucks to be her then." Damon continued, "Was I not clear this morning?"  
><em>

_"I was invited."  
><em>

_"You have to tell me before you walk into a lion's den."  
><em>

_"Why? So that you can stop me?" Elena retorted_

"_Uh…YES." Damon countered _

Elijah watched as the two of them eyed each other for a moment, then Damon extended his hand to Elena.

"_It would be rude not to dance, you know." _

Elena rolled her eyes slightly and smiled.

"_It is tradition," she said_

Then she placed her hand in Damon's and he hooked it through his left arm as they started for the ballroom and Elijah watched them pass him.

Well, he decided, it was time to turn lemons into lemonade.

Elijah made his way through the crowd toward a tall, slender young woman with long dark hair, dressed in bright blue sequined ball gown. She was sipping champagne in the corner of the room with a friend.

"Good Evening," Elijah smiled, turning on his charm as the young woman lowered her glass and eyed him. "Would you care to join me for this dance?"

The woman took a breath and smiled, handing her champagne to her friend.

"Of course." She replied...

"Don't outshine us all now, Fred Astaire." Niklaus said in a low, cheeky voice as he passed Elijah with his own date on his arm and they lined up in forms just inside the ballroom, waiting for the waltz to start.

Elijah immediately recognized the young lady with his brother-it was Elena's best friend, Caroline Forbes. Worse, the Sheriff's daughter.

_THAT is who Niklaus is infatuated with?_ Elijah thought to himself and rolled his eyes, _Well, this night just keeps getting better and better…_

Soon after, Rebekah and Matt also stepped in line in front of Elijah and his partner, trading places with them.

When Rebekah caught Elijah narrowing his eyes at her as the music started, she looked across Matt and smiled at her brother.

"You'll _want_ to be at the back of the line, trust me," she said

Moments later, they were all doing the traditional steps as they entered in two single file lines on opposite sides of the ballroom. Men stood on the right and women on

the left, their arms across one another, right hand in right hand and left hand in left hand.

The song was quite modern and Elijah realized that this would be a slow waltz.

He didn't mind. He was better at slow waltzing anyway.

He glanced over to his partner and saw she looked quite serious, concentrating intently on her steps.

It made him smirk as they took their last step forward, then stopped and turned to face the center of the ballroom and the dancers on the other side.

_Give me love like her…_

Elijah froze when he saw Elena on the arm of Damon Salvatore directly across the room from him.

She turned away from facing Damon and her eyes immediately met Elijah's.

She smiled sweetly at him, then cast a glance over at him out of the corner of her eye as they crossed the room with the other couples, passing each other.

'_Cause lately I've been waking up alone…_

When they reached the other side of the room, Elijah closed his eyes for a moment, trying to catch his breath and steady himself, before nodding formally to his partner and using her right arm to twirl her into a standard dance frame.

_Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt…_

A moment later, they waltzed into the center of the room.

_Told you I'd let them go…_

As they moved past their fellow dancers, Elijah scanned the room for Damon and Elena.

It didn't take long before he found them. Elena staring intently into Damon's eyes, the two of them sharing a small smirk as they moved.

_And that I'll fight my corner…_

Suddenly, Damon turned them and Elena saw Elijah through the crowd over Damon's shoulder.

Her face softened as their eyes locked again.

_Maybe tonight I'll call ya…_

_After my blood turns into alcohol…_

_Oh, I just wanna hold ya…_

She smiled and Elijah couldn't help but give a small smile back.

It was there, again, like the previous night.

The connection.

He knew it was there because he felt his heart jolt.

_Give a little time to me or burn this out…_

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around…_

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow, my my my my…_

Then it was broken. Damon had said something to Elena to bring her attention back to him.

Elijah looked down with a sad smile as their eyes left each other, then turned his attention back to his own dance partner as they continued to move.

_Give me love, my, my, my, my…_

_Oh give me love, my, my, my, my…_

_Oh give me love, My, my, my, my…  
>Oh give me love, my, my, my, my…<em>

_Oh give me love, My, my, my, my…_

Elijah nodded to the young woman kindly as they stopped on the far side of the ball room and stepped away from each other with extended arms, ready for the partner exchange that comes in the middle of the waltz.

"Thank You for the dance." He said in a kind voice and she smiled as he twirled her away from him toward the center of the crowd.

_Give me love…_

_Give me love like never before…_

'_Cause lately I've been craving more_…

The moment she left his presence, his eyes swept the room again for Elena.

But, it seemed she had already found a partner…or one had found her.

It was Stefan Salvatore.

Elijah studied them for a moment, then walked off the dance floor.


	13. Chapter 13

Elijah stood off to the side of the ballroom, mingling with some of the guests and downing a glass of champagne, all the while keeping his eye on the dance floor.

Kol seemed to be behaving himself, as was Finn, still dancing with their prospective partners.

Even Niklaus seemed to be enjoying himself, still stealing small glances over at his date as he now danced with a pretty redhead after the partner exchange.

Caroline was now dancing with Matt Donovan, and from what Elijah could pick up with his vampire hearing, it wasn't just Klaus the pairing was affecting.

Rebekah seemed VERY interested in what Elena's two friends were doing as she eyed them over Damon Salvatore's shoulder.

Elijah turned his head in their direction.

"_Stop staring…it's creepy..." _Damon chided as they waltzed

"_Of course she looks beautiful," _Rebekah scoffed_**,**__ "Nik gave her everything she's wearing." _

"_You're no dog yourself," _Damon replied, looking her over and Rebekah smirked_. _

"_Is that supposed to be a compliment?" _she asked

"_You tried to kill Elena last night,"_ Damon eyed Rebekah in a half-teasing, half-menacing tone, _"you don't get_ _compliments."_

"_Cave man." Rebekah retorted_

**Well, **Elijah thought with a small smile_, _**at least Rebekah is occupied with things other than killing Elena—jealously, flirtatious banter—it all seemed harmless enough and there could be worse things. **

"_Where IS Elena?" _Damon suddenly asked, looking around the dance floor as the waltz finished

Elijah immediately lowered his glass on a nearby table and looked around as well.

When he didn't see Elena anywhere in the ballroom, he left the room quickly and headed toward the main foyer, weaving through a managerie of guests.

Finally, near the staircase, he stopped and closed his eyes, taking in a breath and letting the scents of the room fill his senses for a few moments until he had it—Elena's scent.

He looked around the room, trying to pin point the exact way she went.

He closed his eyes again and in an instant, he had it.

His eyes flew open in the general direction of front hall.

He made his way quickly down the hall to the front door, then moved to the front bay window and scanned out into the darkness.

Suddenly, he saw her, standing off the drive in the grassy area under the trees… and she wasn't alone.

She now turned back to face none other than Stefan Salvatore.

Elijah narrowed his eyes and turned an ear toward the window, placing the fingertips of his left hand on the glass to feel the vibrations. It would help him hear more clearly.

"_If Esther is secretly on our side, we need to know. But I can't get to her with two body guards." _Elena said to her companion

"_Why are you telling me this?" _

"_Because Damon won't let me near her without protection and you care about killing Klaus more than you care about anything so..." _

She studied Stefan for a moment then continued, _"What? Am I wrong?" _

There was a moment's pause before Stefan answered, _"No, you're not wrong. What do you need me to do?" _

"_Make sure I can get into that room with Esther…alone."  
><em>

_"Are you sure you can do this?"  
><em>

Elena took a breath, _"I can do this." _

They looked at each other for a moment before Elena brushed past him and started back toward the house.

After a few steps, she turned back.

"_When we were together, you used to let me make my own decisions. You trusted me. After all this, at least that hasn't changed." _

Elijah took a breath and pulled his hand away from the window.

He didn't want to hear anymore. It brought back to many memories of the girl he once loved a thousand years ago...

"Elijah."

Elijah turned around quickly.

"Mayor Lockwood," he smiled, eying Carol Lockwood as she approached him, "How is your evening?"

"It's been wonderful. I just wanted to catch up with you and Thank You for your invite."

"It was my pleasure, I assure you," Elijah said, turning on the charm, but secretly waiting for Elena to walk through the front door behind him.

"Well, you have a lovely family and a beautiful home..." Carol said, lifting her champagne glass.

"Thank You."

"I'm only sorry that I haven't had a chance to meet your Mother this evening—"

"Well, my Mother hasn't been feeling well lately," Elijah said, quickly deflecting, but also immediately distracted by the sound of the front door clicking open. Elena's scent soon passed over him and he looked out of the corner of his left eye as she moved through the crowd and made her way down the hall toward the front parlor, "Niklaus and I took over host duties for this evening, but perhaps another time. I'm sure she would be happy to meet with you. Maybe we could arrange a tea?"

"That would be lovely." Carol said in a soft voice, then her eyes suddenly brightened, "You know, we are actually having a small benefit luncheon for the Historic Society next Tuesday afternoon. Perhaps she would like to join us?"

But, Elijah's eyes were still fixed on the parlor entrance over Carol's right shoulder as he watched Stefan Salvatore make his way through the crowd moments later, and after looking around for a moment, duck inside after Elena, closing the doors behind him.

"Elijah?"

Elijah shook his head and pulled his eyes back to his guest with a kind smile.

"I'm sure she would be delighted. Just give me the time and place before you leave this evening and I will confer with her and get back to you."

Carol nodded and smiled back, taking the last sip of her champagne.

Elijah's mind immediately raced.

Elena was going to see his mother, which meant that she and Stefan were in the parlor now trying to decide how they were going to deal with Damon.

He didn't have much time.

He had to ditch the Mayor and ditch her fast, then somehow find a way to catch up to Elena before she headed upstairs.

Not to stop her, of course. He trusted Elena and her motives. She seemed to be just as curious about his mother's intentions as himself and he could use that. He could use her on his side.

Elijah's eyes scanned over Carol Lockwood's empty glass then he swiftly moved to her side and offered her his arm.

"It looks like you need a refill, Madam Mayor and I'm starting to feel quite parched myself… Shall we?"

Carol nodded appreciatively and hooked her arm through Elijah's.

"Yes. Thank You," she said as they swept out of the foyer.

After a few minutes of idle chitchat near the bar with the Mayor as the bartender filled their drink orders, Elijah looked out into the crowd and saw Damon Salvatore standing near the stairway, scanning the sea of guests.

When Damon's glance met Elijah's, the oldest Salvatore brother gave a little smirk to which Elijah raised his glass of bourbon in a small toast.

Then Damon's brow furrowed as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out his buzzing cell phone. He looked at the screen for a moment before a look of relief washed over his face.

**It must be from Elena,** Elijah thought, **she must be luring him into the trap she set with Stefan. Damon surely would have noticed her absence after the dance and was probably looking for her. **

Elijah watched as Damon replaced his phone, then quickly made his way through the crowd toward the front hall.

He then looked over to Mayor Lockwood, but she was sipping her champagne and completely engrossed in a conversation with one of the council members who had just stepped up to the bar.

Elijah smiled and downed the rest of his drink.

He would give Damon a head start and then he would catch Elena on her way out after the plan played out.

A few moments later, Elijah set his empty tumbler down on the counter and took off toward the front parlor.

When he arrived, he found the French doors slightly ajar and the scent of Elena lingering in the hallway.

Elijah looked around, but did not see her.

Immediately, he walked back toward the main stairway and looked up just as he saw the bottom of her dress disappear near the top of the banister on the second floor.

Elijah quickly followed her, taking the steps two at a time and weaving through guests as they descended on the other side.

When he reached the top landing, he turned, and looking down the hallway, he saw her.

"Elena" He called in a calm voice as he came up behind her, his heart swelling at the sight of her turning back to face him.

He couldn't help but give a small smile as he came to her side and without thinking, brushed the fingers of his right hand on the side of her left arm.

It was a little thing…something he had always done with Liliya.

And as quickly as it happened, he pulled back, suddenly aware of his actions, but not before he felt the sparks between their skin.

By the look on Elena's face, he knew that she had felt it, too.

"I understand my Mother has requested to see you."

"Uh…yeah," Elena said, still seemingly taken aback, not only by his presence, but by his unexpected touch, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, her ability to forgive my brother after everything he's done to destroy this family strikes me as a little _strange_ …to say the least." Elijah said as he ushered her down the hallway

"Do you think that it's an act?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion as Elijah turned in front of her and blocked her path.

"It has me asking questions I never thought I'd ask," he said, lowering his voice and studying her as she took in his words. Then his face softened as he moved closer to her, "Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?"

Elena took a breath and held his gaze.

For the briefest of moments, there was a look in her eyes— part of it Elijah could tell was her still taking in what he was asking her to do for him, but the other part was _something else_—a question of her own.

It was what he had feared most about coming face to face with her since the previous night and their almost kiss.

And now his fears were reality.

She was there, standing in front of him—beautiful and innocent and wanting to know exactly what was going on between them, her soft chocolate eyes seeming to ask, _"Is that all you have to say to me?"  
><em>

Elijah swallowed and nervousness suddenly over took him, but tried to keep a look of calm about himself.

And then suddenly, Elena blinked, and as quickly as it came, the look was gone.

"Of course," she said, trying to steady her voice as Elijah's gaze broke from hers and she picked up the bottom of her dress and moved toward him.

"I'll find you later, okay?" she said in a low voice as she brushed past him.

He wanted desperately to say something to her, but nothing came out.

And even if he _could_ say something, what could he say? He was still just as confused as she was.

He looked over his shoulder after her, but after a moment, willed himself to look away.

All he could do was take another deep breath and wait for her return.


	14. Chapter 14

_((Hey Guys, sorry this chapter took so long. It's been a longtime in the making. I really struggled with this one because, although this is a fan-fiction site, I tend to be a purist and stick mostly to the current TVD plot. I've had requests on previous chapter reviews for how this "drink" scene between Elijah and Elena should turn out and so after much debate with myself, I have given in to your requests. LOL! I hope you all like it. I think it was a good compromise, especially when you read later chapters. As always, Thanks for reading and for all the positive feedback! I'm so glad you all are enjoying the story! I enjoy writing it:))) _

When Elena did return fifteen minutes later, Elijah watched her make her way down the stairs and into the main foyer, scanning the room him.

Elijah smirked as he made his across the room and to her side.

"So how is my Mother?" he asked with a small smile as she jumped slightly, startled by his sudden presence.

Elena swallowed nervously, _"Intense."_

"And for what reason did she need to speak with you in private?" Elijah asked, taking two glasses of champagne from the tray of a waiter that now appeared in front of them and turned to Elena, handing her the other glass.

But, her gaze was not on him and he didn't have to turn his head to what Elena was looking at—he could see his mother on the staircase out of the corner of his left eye.

He kept looking at Elena—she was clearly frightened as she beheld Esther and he was pretty sure by the way her heart was beating that Esther was now looking back at her.

"Elena," Elijah said, trying to bring her attention back to him and it worked, her chocolate brown eyes now moved back to him, "should I be concerned about my Mother's intentions?"

"She just wanted to apologize," Elena said in a low voice, looking down for a moment, then looking up, "for trying to have me _killed_."

Elijah straightened. Elena had raised her eyebrow.

Was this some kind of signal?

It was true that Rebekah had tried to kill Elena, but not on his Mother's orders. Maybe perhaps Elena thought that Esther had been behind Rebekah's attack or maybe she was trying to tell him something else.

"So it's true then?" Elijah smirked, moving closer to her, part of him wanted to believe she was truly, helping him but he always had to be sure, "She's forgiven Klaus?"

Elena blinked, holding his gaze unsteadily, before smiling weakly.

"It's true," she said

Her heart jumped and Elijah's dropped.

It wasn't a flutter or a skipped beat. He was pretty sure it was a jump.

She was being dishonest. She wasn't telling him the _whole_ truth.

He wanted to ask her another question, but at that moment, his Mother clinked her glass for everyone's attention.

Within moments, all the guests in the room were turned toward Esther Mikaelson standing on the staircase.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this _spectacular_ evening. Cheers!"

The crowd soon joined in unison, "Cheers!"

**Oh, Mother,** Elijah though, shaking his head as he continued to listen to Elena's heart continue to beat nervously, **You do know how to lay it on thick…**

"Cheers," Elijah said turning back to Elena with a manufactured smile.

They clinked their glasses, then Elena pauses hers near her mouth, eyeing Elijah's glass with sad eyes.

Elijah smirked, and taking in her actions, paused his glass by his own mouth, seemingly calling her bluff-waiting for her to drink first.

It didn't take long before she folded.

Elijah suddenly saw her narrow her eyes at his glass and shake her head slightly at him before taking a drink of her champagne.

She was telling him _not_ to drink it?

He listened to her heart—it was steady. And it was suddenly clear by her body language that she whatever she was doing, she didn't like deceiving him, she was uncomfortable with it.

Perhaps she felt she had to lie to him with his Mother so close and able to hear everything she told him. And perhaps he had made a mistake in questioning her there in the mansion and not someplace safe at a later time, where she might be more comfortable and more inclined to tell him the truth.

Well, it was too late for that now.

All he could do was take what he could get out of her—two lies and the only truth—apparently that he shouldn't drink the champagne he was holding in his hand.

But if he didn't drink, someone would see.

Elijah knew then, he would have to go along with the charade.

If Elena could deceive him, he could deceive her…and his Mother.

After a moment of watching her drink, Elijah brought his own glass to his lips and took a short sip, then smirked again as the glass lowered.

Elena lowered her own glass, her face falling and her eyes darkening, as she forced her self to give a small smile in return.

He was right. She _was_ warning him…she was clearly upset by the fact that he drank the champagne.

If only she knew that he only let the champagne splash against his lips, that he hadn't swallowed a drop…

"Well, it's late. I should go find Damon." Elena said keeping a nervous smile.

"Of course," Elijah said, taking her glass from her, "It was a pleasure to see you, Elena."

Elena held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, hauling up her skirt and walking away toward the other end of the foyer as Elijah looked after her.

"You're a lost cause, you know that?" Rebekah said cheekily as she came up beside him and took one of the glasses of champagne out of his hand.

"You are really in no place to judge, Rebekah, based on your actions tonight concerning your _own human_," Elijah said as he quickly plucked the glass out of her hand as she raised it to her lips, "And I think you've had enough to drink for one night, don't you?"

He knew his sister would have already drunk the champagne once, she didn't need to drink it again. Especially, if what Elena had been trying to tell him turned out to be true.

"Ugh…" Rebekah sighed, "You are such a killjoy, Elijah. Is this about the blood in the champagne? Because frankly, I found it refreshing—"

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he quickly turned to his sister, _"What?"_

"There's blood in the champagne we toasted with. Didn't you smell it? I think it was quite cleaver of Mother and a fun little prank on our human guests, don't you think?"

Elijah's mind raced.

He quickly brought one of the glasses up to his nose and took a whiff, then pulled it back—it was faint, but there was _definitely_ blood in the champagne.

Was he so focused on Elena that he failed to notice it earlier?

Elijah closed his eyes and brought the glass to his nose again.

There was something about the scent that also seemed, well, _familiar._

Suddenly, it hit.

He took a sharp breath and quickly placed the glasses on a passing waiter's tray.

He had smelled the blood before…it was Elena's.

"So speaking of blood and lusting after humans…" Rebekah said, looking around, "Have you seen Matt?"

"No." Elijah said, shaking himself out of his trance, "I haven't."

Suddenly, as if on cue, there was a human scream from the second floor.

It was barely audible to the other guests, but to vampire hearing it was loud and clear.

"Damn it, Kol!' Rebekah said angrily under her breath, her nostrils flaring as she looked up in the direction of the second floor hall balcony.

Then there were more voices and the sound of a bodies falling and hitting pavement and rustling—a fight.

Elijah quickly took off, finding it hard to keep from breaking into vampire speed. He knew he couldn't, not in front of so many humans.

When he made his way to the front foyer, he tossed a glance at Niklaus, standing in the front parlor with Mayor Lockwood.

He could tell by Niklaus' face that he had heard the commotion as well.

Soon, Niklaus fell in line with Rebekah right behind Elijah.

As they approached the door, they saw Finn and Stefan Salvatore were already ahead of them.

But, where the originals were all walking at a steady pace, Stefan ran and quickly threw open the front door.

Soon, they all spilled out onto the front steps, watching Damon as he stood over Kol, who had fallen unconscious.

"Damon!" Stefan cried, leaping down the stone steps to face his brother, "What are you, crazy?"

Elijah kept his eyes forward, but saw Elena sprinting out the front door onto the steps out of the corner of his eye.

"Maybe a little…" Damon said, eyeing all of them, then his gaze stopped directly on Elena, "Far be it for me to cause a _problem._"

Then, he turned and, stepping over Kol's body, walked stealthily down the drive.

Finn immediately made his way to Kol's side and Niklaus soon followed. Rebekah turned and went back inside, but Elijah didn't move.

He turned to Elena and watched as her face crumbled and she pulled her evening wrap closer around her shoulders.

In that moment, Elijah wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, but Stefan Salvatore was soon at the bottom of the steps, offering her his hand.

"Come on, Elena. I'll take you home." He said in a low, reassuring voice.

And Elena nodded, taking his hand and making her way down the steps.

"Elijah," Stefan nodded up formally to the oldest original, his face filled with apology, "Sorry about this."

Elijah straightened and gave a nod back.

Then he watched after them as Stefan escorted Elena down the drive to her car.

It was quite sometime—Niklaus and Finn had already carried Kol into the house—before Elijah got what he was waiting for.

As they made it half-way down the drive, Elena cast a tentative glance back at him over her right shoulder.

Her eyes met his, and to Elijah surprise and relief, it was still there—even after all the nights events, including her deception—it was still there…the connection.


	15. Chapter 15

When Elijah finally re-entered the mansion, he saw his Mother standing at the top of the staircase as the crowd parted and Niklaus and Finn carried a still unconcious Kol up to the second floor.

Esther watched them pass her, then turned her gaze to Elijah and motioned for him to come to her.

Elijah sighed and straightened his jacket as he made his way up the stairs to his Mother.

She didn't say a word to him when he came to her side, she just made her way down the hall to her quarters in silence with him trailing behind.

When they finally entered her bedroom and were out of the remaining guests' earshot, she moved through to the small sitting room attached to it and turned back to face her eldest son.

"No violence! That was all I asked," she cried in a stern voice, "Rebekah and Kol disgraced our family tonight."

"It won't happen again, Mother," Elijah said in a resigned voice, closing his eyes, "I'll deal with them."

He then watched as his mother's face softened and she moved forward.

In an unanticipated gesture, she brought her hand up to the side of Elijah's face, her eyes turning kind as they stared into his for a few moments.

Elijah took this opportunity to finally study his Mother upclose—_really_ study her.

But, there was nothing in her face or her actions that suggested anything suspicious.

To his jarring surprise, she seemed to be exactly the same person he knew a thousand years ago.

"Thank You, Elijah," Esther said, "I wish the others were more like you."

Then her eyes turned sad.

Elijah furrowed his brow for a moment, then brought his hand up to her hand on his face and removed it gently, then with a parting look, turned toward the door.

But not before he saw Finn there in the threshold, waiting.

Elijah gave another look back toward his Mother, then walked toward the bedroom as Finn entered through the French doors and closed them behind him.

Elijah stood in middle the bedroom for a few moments, listening.

He couldn't believe it had come to this—eavesdropping on his Mother and younger brother.

Part of him still rationalized that Finn had always been closest ,out of all of his siblings, to their Mother and that it would only be natural that since her return, he would want to stay with her and dote on her as she adjusted to her life in a new century.

But, the other part said that something was VERY wrong with how much time they were spending together and how Finn was lying to Elijah and the others about it, particularly in this moment and in this scenario when, as Elijah listened, he found he wasn't hearing a single sound coming from the sitting room…

Niklaus shook his head, running a hand through his hair with one hand as he tore apart his tie with the other as he crossed the threshold out of Kol's bedroom.

"How is he?" Elijah sighed as he approached his brother in the hallway

Niklaus shook his head again and Elijah could see the rage in his eyes, "He's lucky that Damon didn't rip his bloody head off! I thought you had them under control, Elijah!"

"So this is my fault?" Elijah asked with narrowed eyes in disbelief and suddenly his emotions over came him and his lashed out everything he was feeling on his brother, "I'm only _one person_, Niklaus! In human years, they are technically adults so I can't _control_ them _at all_! I can keep an eye on them, but even then, I can't do it _every _moment of _every_ day, especially when I'm trying to also keep you alive…" Elijah stepped forward, "Because let's face it, our siblings aren't the only ones who want you dead, Niklaus! Do you think any of those people out there—Elena, Stefan, Damon, Alaric, Bonnie, Caroline, Sherriff Forbes—have really forgotten what you've done since you came to this town!"  
>Niklaus straightened and stepped back from his brother in surprise.<p>

"So don't get all high and mighty on me little brother, because I'll tell you this," Elijah said in a low, seething voice as he brushed past his brother toward Kol's bedroom door, "if you _ever_ judge me again…you better sleep with one eye open."

As Elijah entered Kol's bedroom, he found Kol lying on the bed in his tuxedo, Rebekah sitting on the edge at his side.

When she saw him, she too, like Niklaus, recoiled.

"Elijah…" she said in a weak voice

Elijah held his hands up to silence her.

He immediately knew why she had recoiled, his face had changed.

It hadn't happened in a very long time—years to be exact—but his fight with Niklaus and his heightened emotions from the nights earlier events with Elena had caused his face to change with his anger.

Elijah closed his eyes and willed his bloodlust to calm.

After a few moments, he could feel the lines under his eyes slowly disappear and fangs recede.

"Rebekah," Elijah said, stepping forward, eyeing Kol, "I'm disappointed in you to say the least."

"What?" Rebekah said, quickly standing, "But I—"

"Don't pretend like you're innocent in this. I saw your reaction when Matt screamed. You knew Kol was planning on attacking one of Elena's friends tonight, didn't you?"

Rebekah closed her eyes, "Yes, but—"

Elijah held up his hand again to silence her.

"Please, I've heard enough lies tonight, Rebekah. I don't want to hear anymore…especially not from you. I'll deal with you both later when Kol's awake."

And with that, he turned his back on her and left the room.

As he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom, Elijah had a thought.

He knew exactly what Rebekah was going to say before he stopped her.

_Yes, but he frightens me._

It suddenly made him think of Elena.

She had been scared too, tonight. He was sure of it.

If he talked to her alone, without Esther watching would she tell him the truth or at least give him more clues as to what had taken place during her meeting with his Mother.

Elijah decided to find out…

Elijah arrived at the Gilbert house ten minutes later and used a nearby cottonwood tree to swing himself up to Elena's open window.

He looked inside, but did not see Elena.

With the aide of vampire speed, he found himself in the middle of Elena's bedroom. He listened for a moment and then he heard it—the shower in nearby bathroom was running.

Elijah turned back and took in Elena's room, then started to wander around it.

He went to her vanity and looked in the jewelry boxes on top of it, fingering some of her bracelets and rings.

Then he looked up to her mirror and to pictures of a small child—a girl he would assume was Elena—then to a picture of a middle aged couple—her parents. There also pictures of Jeremy and her Aunt Jenna.

He looked over on the dresser and saw one of her, Bonnie and Caroline—then one of her and Stefan.

He smiled.

It must be nice to have pictures of your family and friends—memories like that to hold on to.

He didn't even have a drawing. All he had were memories. And most of those where not very good.

He turned and walked back toward her bed, running his finger over the end of the white bedspread up to where her journal sat in the center.

He tapped a finger on the cover and thought for a moment, but decided not to open it.

It was then that he heard the water turn off in the bathroom.

Elijah looked around the room again, trying to think of a way to present himself without scaring her when she walked out, but nothing came.

As he did so, though, he noticed a teddy bear propped up on the pillows of her bed.

Elijah smirked as he reached over and grabbed the bear, bringing it to his chest as he looked down into its small face.

Suddenly, the bathroom door clicked open and Elijah turned to see Elena, exiting.

She was wrapped in a white bathrobe, her eyes cast down as she pulled back her semi-dry hair into a pony tail.

In a moment, though, her eyes raise and she stops dead in her tracks at the sight of Elijah.

"W-what are you doing here?" she asked in a stunned voice

"I wanted to speak to you…alone." Elijah replied

Elena looked him over for a minute then cocked an eyebrow.

"Alright," she sighed as she walked over and sat on the edge of her bed and held out her hands, "But can I have my teddy bear back or are you going to hold him hostage?"

Elijah smirked and released the bear, handing it over to her.

He watched her as she kissed its face before tossing it back onto its rightful spot on her pillow.

"Ok. You wanted to talk," she said, turning back to him with tired eyes, "so talk."

As Elijah studied her, he suddenly realized how selfish he had been, coming here this late, after the night she had clearly had, dealing with the Salvatore Brothers, then his Mother, then him, then the Salvatore Brothers again. He wanted something from her, when he should be wanting to give something to her—comfort, perhaps, or support. That was how this friendship thing was supposed to work right. He should have been more patient. He shouldn't have come—he could talk to her about his Mother another time.

"I just wanted to make sure you got home safely," he said, trying to cover "you seemed upset when you left."

Elena closed her eyes, seemingly relieved that she didn't have to answer more questions and spout more lies to him.

This made Elijah's heart feel a little better. At least he was right about that—she didn't like deceiving him.

"Well, things have been a little complicated around here the last few days," she said, "_And dramatic._..especially concerning Damon—"

"And Stefan as well?" Elijah interjected

"Yes…" Elena sighed, "Stefan, too."

"They both love you, you know..." Elijah said in a low voice

Elena smiled weakly.

"Damon, yes. But, Stefan…" Elena trailed off as she thought for a moment, then continued, "Stefan's no longer himself anymore, Elijah. He doesn't feel love. He doesn't feel _anything_—"

"Trust me, Elena," Elijah said with soft eyes as he sat down on the bed beside her, "When you're a vampire, it's harder to turn off your humanity than you think it is. So believe me when I say that he still feels _everything,_ Elena—he—just—can't admit the truth of it yet. Not to himself...and especially not to you."

Elena turned to him, "I wouldn't mind hearing the lie."

"No one wants to hear the lie." Elijah said, bringing his hand to rest on the side of her face, meeting her gaze.

But her eyes moved away from him suddenly as if ashamed and she quickly got up, crossing the room to her window.

"I appreciate you coming by to check on me, Elijah," Elena said in a shaky voice, "but it's late and I'm tired. I really just want to go to sleep."

Elijah smiled weakly, clearly aware that she was trying to avoid the subject of lying and deception then rubbed his hands on his thighs nervously and stood up from her bed.

"Of course," he said, stepping toward her, "if you are sure you're alright."

"I'll be fine," Elena said, giving an unconvincing smile.

"Elena," Elijah said in a low voice as he moved closer, trying to meet her gaze, "you don't have to be brave all the time. I'm always here for you, you know that right? You don't have to be afraid. You have my word that I will protect you. I won't let anything happen to you. You can tell me _anything._.."

He hoped his real meaning behind the words weren't lost on her.

They weren't.

Elena bit her lip as she considered his words for a moment, then looked up to Elijah with sad eyes.

"Who's going to protect _you_?" she asked with a raised eyebrow

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he realized that what she said seemed to have a double meaning, like earlier in the evening with the champagne.

He brushed a whisp of her hair that had fallen out of her pony tail out of her eyes and over her right ear as he studied her face.

"Elena?" he whispered as her eyes closed at his touch, his fingers lowering from the side of her head to trace her right cheek.

He could hear her heart quicken, but not jump as it did earlier. He knew she wasn't lying.

Elena opened her eyes and stepped closer to him.

"Who's going to _save you_, Elijah?" she asked again, with another raised eyebrow

Elijah's eyes met hers and he smiled

"You are." He whispered, leaning into her.

And It was true.

All she had to do was say the words—tell him what he needed to know and they would both be free.  
>From what she was saying he was in danger and she wanted to help him—she <em>could<em> help him.

Elena swallowed nervously, letting out a staggered breath, "Aren't you going to compel me?"

Elijah suddenly straightened and stepped back, releasing her from his grasp.

"Never," he said automatically as Elena smirked sadly and nodded.

Compulsion would be too easy. He knew that it was the easy way out for her and he didn't want that.  
>They were friends or at least he hoped they were.<br>He wanted to hear the truth without having to compel her and he told himself he would…he would just have to be patient.

That was easier said then done.

"Goodnight, Elena." Elijah said softly

And in a moment, Elena looked around and he was gone.

_**((Thanks for reading guys! Sorry I'm so behind in posting. I always hate to keep my audience waiting;) This chapter didn't turn out as stellar as I hoped, but it's Elijah/Elena centric, so I'm sure you'll all eat it up! LOL! This is a little deviation from the story. I had planned to go AU after making it past the events of Episode 3x15, but after some reviews of last chapter, I decided to go off the path early. I hope it's juicy enough. Take care and I'll try to post more soon.))**_


	16. Chapter 16

When Elijah returned home, walking through the front door of the mansion, he heard a familiar voice announce his arrival, "I told you he'd be home first."

Elijah sighed, removing his tuxedo jacket and folding it over his right arm as he made his way down the hall to the front parlor. When he looked inside, he saw his younger brothers—Kol lying across the leather couch with his feet propped up on the end and Finn sitting in the nearby recliner.

"Jeg hadde rett, Kol." Finn said with a smile when he saw Elijah, holding out his hand, "Betal opp!"

"Fine." Kol smirked, then turned on his side and pulled a money clip out of his pocket and peeled off two hundred dollar bills and tossed them over his head at Finn.

"Do I even _want_ to know?" Elijah asked, tearing apart his bowtie and pulling it from his collar.

"Just a little good natured bet between Finn and I," Kol said with a raised eyebrow, "You and Rebekah both stayed out awfully late tonight…we thought that maybe…_you know_..."

"Dear God, this is what you do with your time now?" Elijah asked with narrowed eyes, shaking his head, "You're taking bets as to who's getting 'lucky'?"

"Hey, don't look at me..._he_ started it." Kol smiled, pointing an accusing finger over his head at Finn

"What are you ten?" Elijah asked, "And quite frankly, you should _both_ be horse whipped. First you…" Elijah said, pointing at Kol "then you…" he said turning his finger on Finn, and back to Kol once more, "Then _you_, again! And you are _very_ lucky that I don't have a horse whip on me, right now, Kol, because that stunt you pulled tonight…" Elijah shook his head and put his hands up in surrender, "You know what? I can't deal with this right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I need a drink."

Then, without another word, he turned and walked in the direction of Niklaus' office.

Elijah threw his jacket onto a nearby chair as he crossed the room to the bar, where he reached over the counter and pulled a bottle of single malt scotch and a tumbler and set it on the mahogany wood.

"So, how _was _your night?" Finn's voice sounded from the doorway

"What do you care?" Elijah smiled over his shoulder as he poured his drink, "You bet _against_ me, remember?"

"Oh…" Finn smirked as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest, "I didn't bet against your _charms_, Elijah, I bet against your _restraint_. You could have any woman you wanted and you know it. But, you always come home. That never changes."

"Need I remind you that you always come home, too, little brother." Elijah smirked as he took a drink

Finn sighed and said in a resigned voice, "Yes. Yes, I do."

"God, I never thought I would ever say this, but Rebekah's right…we _are_ pathetic…" Elijah chuckled as he pulled another tumbler out from behind the bar and set it on the counter for his brother to join him.

Finn pushed himself off of the door frame, crossing the room to the bar and taking the tumbler in hand.

"Why?" he asked, "Because we are only ones in our family still capable of truly loving someone? Or because we are the only ones in our family who wish to _be_ like humans, not kill them?"

"Both." Elijah said as he filled Finn's glass to the top, then set down the bottle.

"Cheers," Finn smiled, raising his glass then took a drink and Elijah followed suit.

Finn put the empty tumbler back on the bar and Elijah filled it again.

"So where is everyone?" Elijah asked as he brought the decanter to his own glass

"Niklaus is in his room brooding and drawing...big surprise there, right? Kol woke up and drank the blood supply in both my room _and_ his room before I could stop him, then he threatened to go find Damon Salvatore and do things to him that would rather not repeat because I am a man of honor, but I do believe the words entrails and quartering were used… " Finn said, then threw his tumbler back, "And Rebekah…" he said, lowering his glass as he looked to Elijah with a raised eyebrow, "well, to _tactfully_ put it, Rebekah is still _out_."

Elijah sighed as he threw back another drink, "Lovely."

Finn took the decanter and helped himself to another tumbler full of scotch as Elijah looked down into the bottom of his glass.

"And what about Mother?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant

He had struck out with getting the truth from Elena tonight, but maybe he would have more luck with Finn. But he also knew that the key to getting Finn to talk was to catch his brother was off guard. Maybe the liquor would help in that regard.

Finn froze for a moment then took a breath as he lowered the decanter onto the counter with a nervous thud. Or maybe not.

"She's fine. She's been in her room all night." Finn answered

"What did she want with you after I left?" Elijah asked stealthily, still looking down into his glass. Something told him that making eye contact with his brother would only make things worse.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked as he took another drink

"I _mean,_ that you went into her quarters after I left and shut the doors behind you. What did you two talk about?"  
>"Nothing." Finn said breathlessly, reaching for the decanter again, but before he could, Elijah lowered his own tumbler onto the counter and with vampire speed grabbed Finn's hand.<p>

Finn dropped his glass, shattering it on the counter as he writhed under Elijah's increasingly tight grip.

"_Finn?_" Elijah asked in a steady voice, his eyes trying to meet Finn's, but Finn did everything in his power to avoid eye contact with him, his face contorting in pain. If he didn't know that Elijah truly suspected something, he did now.

After a few moments, Elijah sighed, realizing that his brother was and always had been a true martyr, and released Finn from his grasp.

Finn pulled away quickly and without another word left the room as Elijah closed his eyes and poured himself another drink...

Elijah woke early with a nauseous feeling in his stomach.

He was unsure if it was the alcohol talking or his gut…or maybe it was both.

It turns out, it _was_ his gut, because after he had dressed and made his way down the hallway toward the main staircase, the same feeling came over him, making him stop, just outside his mother's room.

Elijah took a breath then stepped forward and knocked on the door.

When there was no answer the third time, he turned the knob and entered.

The room was dark. His mother was nowhere in sight.

He past her bed and opened the French doors into her sitting room.

Elijah paced the room for a few moments, studying it, but found nothing out of the ordinary…nothing, that is, until he smelled _it._

It was a familiar scent and one that he remembered distinctly from his childhood.

He came to stop along side his mother's writing table and inhaled deeply, trying to decipher exactly what was filling his senses.

Then he looked down and noticed the small white bundle lying in ashes on a golden stand in the middle of the table.

He picked it up and rolled it around in his hand.

It was sage...

As Elijah made his way downstairs, he heard the front door close and watched as Rebekah entered through the main parlor door wearing her ball gown from the previous evening and carrying her heels in her right hand.

"Well, well, well…there's our girl!" Elijah heard Kol quip as he came to the bottom of the stairs.

"Get out of my way, Kol." Rebekah said angrily under her breath

"Out all night! What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner…Matt, was it?" Kol teased

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth!" Rebekah cried

This made Elijah smirk as he made his way slowly down the hall, tuning in closer on the conversation.

"Don't start, Nik." Rebekah said sternly

"I didn't say anything." Niklaus retorted

"I'm bored," Kol observed, "Our sister is a _strumpet_…but at least she's having fun. I need entertainment."

"What are you waiting for? Have at it." Niklaus said

"It's no fun to go alone. Join me, Nik! It's the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart."

"Okay, why not…" Niklaus said and Elijah could hear his brother lifting himself up off of his place on the leather couch, "I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night, what with you trying to murder Rebekah's date."

"Yes, _please go_. This house has enough men rolling around in it." Rebekah said as Niklaus headed toward the foyer and Kol followed.

"Just like _you_, Bekah!" Kol teased again before he ran out the door.

"Good riddance… _both_ of you!" Rebekah cried as he threw a shoe at her brother just as Elijah made his entrance.

"Rebekah"

Rebekah sighed when she saw her oldest brother, "Not you, too, Elijah."

But Elijah wasn't going to give her the lecture she was anticipating. He figured Kol had given her enough grief about her recklessness and besides, she was technically an adult in human years and it really wasn't any of his business what she did in her personal life.

"I'm worried about, Mother," he said, still holding the sage in his right hand, "have you not noticed her strange behavior?"

"So we are back to this again, are we?" Rebekah said, rolling her eyes slightly, "She's been dead for a thousand years…what's _strange_ for her?"

"Burnt sage," Elijah said with a raised eyebrow, holding out the sage to his sister, watching as she took it into her own hands and studied it, "She was doing a privacy spell."

That would explain why he couldn't hear anything when he tried to ease drop on his Mother and Finn the previous night.

"You know she fancies such things," Rebekah retorted, clearly trying deflect his reasoning, "why don't you ask Finn, he's been doting on her—"

"I don't trust Finn." Elijah stated clearly, "He hates what we are… he always has."

"That's not true," Rebekah sighed, "and as for Mother, she returned for one reason—to make her family whole. She loves us. What trouble are you looking to find?"

Elijah studied Rebekah for a moment, then turned and left the room.

Moments later, Elijah entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him, then threw himself blindly onto his bed and unbuttoned his suit jacket as he lay back on the silk comforter and tried to relax.

He took slow, steady breaths and blinked his eyes slowly, studying the white stucco ceiling above him in an attempt to clear his mind. Maybe it would help him come up with what it was that he wasn't seeing—the missing piece of the puzzle.

Something _was_ going on with their Mother—Kol saw it. Why couldn't Rebekah see it, too?

Elijah took another breath and shifted his arm underneath his head.

It was then that he felt it.

He turned his head slightly and noticed a small folded note resting on the side of his pillow.

He took it in his right hand as he sat up, glancing at the elegant scrawl on the front.

_**Elijah**_

Elijah quickly opened it and read its contents.

_**I have left with Mother. The plan will be carried out dusk. I should have known I could never decieve you. For my disloyalty and for my part in our impending fate, I pray your forgiveness. **_

_**Always and Forever, **_

_**Finn**_

Elijah's nostrils flared in anger and he quickly propelled himself off of the bed and moved immediately toward his door, flinging it open.

He rushed down the hallway and knocked hard on Rebekah's bedroom door.

"Ugh! I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Rebekah called from behind the wood and after a few moments, she opened the door, her face clearly annoyed as she tied a bathrobe around her waist.

"I was going to take a shower, Elijah…What the _bloody hell_ is so important that you had to practically break my door down?" she asked haughtily

Elijah held up Finn's note in his hand and eyed his sister sternly.

"I've found the 'trouble' you require."


	17. Chapter 17

Elijah waited patiently for Rebekah in the main foyer and when she finally descended the staircase, he met her at the bottom landing.

"So, we are clear on the plan?" he asked, holding a cell phone out to her

"Yes," Rebekah said rolling her eyes as she reached for it.

"Rebekah…" Elijah said, taking in a sharp breath and pulling the phone away from her grasp, "This is serious."

"I _know._" Rebekah retorted haughtily, grabbing for the phone, but Elijah held it higher.

"I am _trusting _you with her…" he said in a low tone, his eyes narrowing on his sister, "Give me your word."

Rebekah stepped forward and looked over her brother with soft eyes, "I give you my word. I won't harm your little girlfriend…"

There was an awkward silence as Elijah returned her gaze for a moment, sensing a rebuttal coming, then added _"But?" _

Rebekah smirked, "Can't I harm her just _a little_ if she _really_ pisses me off? Nothing horrible, just a bit of torture—"

"No." Elijah said sternly

Rebekah sighed and held out her left hand, "Very well."

Elijah lowered the I Phone and handed it to Rebekah.

"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point in about twenty minutes," he said as he grabbed his suit jacket from its resting place over the banister railing and threw it over his shoulders.

"Unless she works her womanly wilds on you," Rebekah smirked teasingly

"Behave yourself." Elijah said sternly, turning back and pointing a finger at her as he opened the front door, then his face softened.

"Jeg elsker deg," he said

Rebekah smirked

"Jeg elsker deg også," she said in a soft voice

Elijah smiled. His sister hadn't spoken their native language in centuries. Out of all the siblings, Elijah was sure that he and Finn spoke it most frequently since they had turned. Kol, Nik and Rebekah hardly ever did. Finn once said he thought that the others refused to do so because it was a tie to their humanity that they wanted to forget.

Perhaps that was true.

But in that moment, hearing his sister say "I Love You, too" gave Elijah the strength he needed to do what he had to do.

And without looking back, he left and closed the door behind him…

Ten minutes and four successive knocks later, the front door of the Gilbert house opened and Elena stood in front of him.

As always, her simple beauty overwhelmed him and he had to catch his breath for a moment before speaking.

_Focus_… he told himself, _Focus…_

"Elena," he said in a kind voice

"Elijah," Elena responded with a nervous smile

"I don't mean to intrude," Elijah continued, quickly looking behind her to assess whether she was alone in the house or not, "I was hoping you might accompany me."

Elena stepped back nervously and looked over her shoulder for a moment before turning back and Elijah knew she was still feeling nervous and guilty being his presence after the previous evening's events.

And of course he understood why she felt that way and he had promised himself after his visit to her bedroom the night before, that he wouldn't push her—that he would let her tell him the truth in her own time.

But, desperate times called for desperate measures. Whatever Finn and his Mother were planning it was happening soon…there was no time to waste.

_Trust,_ Elijah thought, _I need her trust before she'll share anything with me_

"There is something I want to show you," he said

"Really?" Elena asked, nervously brushing a strand of hair over her ear

"Yes," Elijah smiled, "Will you come?"

Elena took in a breath as she studied Elijah's face for a moment, then finally nodded

"Sure," she said as she stepped through the threshold

"You'll need your coat," Elijah quickly reminded her

Elena chuckled and rolled her eyes, forgetting her nervousness as she mused at her own stupidity, "Oh, my God, how ironic is _that_?"

"What?" Elijah asked as he watched her walk back through the doorway and move down the hallway to the coat closet, opening the door.

"That the vampire who is wearing a coat, but doesn't need it, reminds the human who forgot to grab her coat, that she needs it," she said as she pulled out her black pea coat and blue striped scarf and closed the door. She then threw them on as she walked back toward him, giving him small smile as he stepped out of the way and allowed her to pass first, then closed the front door behind her.

It was a quiet ride out to the woods near Stephens Quarry and the only words to break the silence were Elena's just before the Lincoln finally stopped just near the end of the path.

"Is this it?" Elena asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly unimpressed

Elijah smirked as he unfastened his seatbelt, "_It_ was once my home, Elena."

A look of awe crossed Elena's face then she copied Elijah's movements and unfastened her own seatbelt.

"I forgot how much I missed this land," Elijah said with reverence, as he stood behind the Lincoln's driver's side door and looked out into the forest of his childhood.

"I can't even imagine what it must have been like a thousand years ago," Elena said as she shut her passenger side door and Elijah followed suit.

"You know, your school was built over an Indian village," Elijah said, moving forward, placing his hands in his pockets as he met Elena at the front of the car and walked alongside her, "where I saw my first werewolf. The town square was where the natives would gather to worship…"

Elena's eyes widened and brightened and it made Elijah want to continue.

Somehow, it no longer seemed to be just about getting something from her, it was about giving her something of him—something real. He wanted her to know him, even if it was only something small.

"Matter of fact, near that—there was a field, where wild horses used to graze." He finished, pausing every couple of steps, reaching out to touch the pine trees. Then he finally stopped and looked down in thought as the memories washed over him.

"That's incredible," Elena said in a low voice

Elijah had thought it so, too, a thousand years ago when he had lived it.

"Come," he said finally, pushing off of the tree he had rested on and walked ahead with Elena following close behind.

As he moved to the clearing, he saw a familiar sight—one that brought back wonderful and not so wonderful memories all at once.

"Do you know this place, too?" Elena asked when she saw Elijah smile and move forward to touch the large rock formation in front of them.

"I do." Elijah said, "Below us is a cavern I used to play in as a boy. It connects to a system of tunnels that stretch across the entire area."

And as he knelt down to the ground beside the rock formation, those memories came to him—playing in the caverns with Niklaus when they were boys, their shrieks of laughter echoing through the tunnels—helping Henrik carve symbols and drawings on the cave walls—rescuing Finn when he was a teenager during a storm that flooded the cavern and left him trapped in over six feet of water…

Elijah picked up a lump of grass and rolled it in his hands, "Perhaps its nature's way of protecting us from the savagery of the Full Moon. My Mother said, 'There must be a balance'…"

And immediately he remembered the nights that his family spent in the caves as their neighbors took their wolf forms and howled through the night—the day he ran from the stables when he heard Niklaus' cries as he carried their youngest brother, Henrik, bloody and lifeless in his arms—the days and night spent in the tunnels, alone and starving, after Liliya died, when he did not want to live an eternity without her…

"Elijah," Elena said nervously, suddenly breaking his thoughts, "I should probably go home."

_It's time…You can do this_…Elijah thought to himself, _You can do this…Game face…_

Elijah brought himself to a standing position as Elena turned to go

"You know, I admire you, Elena," he said trying to keep his voice level, "You remind me of qualities I valued long before my Mother turned us. It's not in your nature to be deceitful and yet…" he said pointing a finger at her, "when I asked you about your meeting with my Mother the other night, you lied to my face."

It was then that Elijah heard it—the jump in Elena's heart, and suddenly, it provoked something in him.

He turned to her and gave her a knowing glare.

This seemed to terrify Elena even more then him finally outright acknowledging her deceit. It seemed to be something she had been waiting for—an impending freedom, but at the same time, Elijah saw her pull back in fear from what she thought was also his impending wrath.

_Careful, _he told himself when he sensed himself moving forward, _keep your anger in check…just enough that she is scared into giving you the truth, not completely terrified_

"That's not true," Elena said, stepping back, "I told you that all your Mother wanted was a fresh start—"

"I can hear your heart beat," Elijah said, "It jumps when you are being dishonest with me. You lied to me at the ball, you are lying to me now. Tell me the truth."

_Okay, she's utterly terrified, pull it back._

"I never wanted this to happen…" Elena whispered

"_What,_ Elena?" Elijah prompted

"We were told that whatever was going to be in that coffin was going to kill Klaus. But when we found out it was your mother…we didn't know _what _to think—"

Elijah's eyes narrowed, "Since her return she says she only wants this family whole again,"

He waited. At the ball when he had asked her about his mother forgiving Niklaus, she had lied. But, to his relief, her heart was steady now as she answered.

Elena nodded, "When she asked to see me, I thought that maybe she could help, that maybe she would find a way to kill Klaus…" and suddenly, her eyes met Elijah's, "It's not just Klaus that she wants to kill."

Immediately, Elijah knew—Elena warning him about the champagne, her subtle hints that night in her room 'Who is going to save you, Elijah?', Finn's note: 'For my disloyalty and for my part in our impending fate, I beg your forgiveness'—it all made sense.

"She wants to kill us all, doesn't she," he said, in a statement rather than a question.

After all, it _was_ a fact—he knew it and Elena knew it, too.

Elijah swore under his breath.

And suddenly, the anger rose again inside of him. Not at Elena, but at his Mother.

Then, after a moment, it passed and all he felt was sorrow.

Elijah looked away to hide his emotions from Elena

"She wants to do the evil she created…" he said a low voice as Elena tried to meet his gaze

"I'm so sorry, Elijah. I wish there was something I could do to help."

Elijah took a breath and looked up.

He believed her, but something told him that he would still have to do it—go through with the plan. Rebekah was depending on him, and now so were Kol and Niklaus. He had hoped that it wouldn't come down to bargaining Elena's life for his siblings, but she was his only leverage and by what Elena now told him about his Mother's plan and when Finn said it was going to happen, he would need that leverage if he was going to make it in time.

"You know," Elijah said trying to keep himself in check, "one thing I've learned in my time on this earth…be careful what you wish for."

Elena looked at him with a quizzical brow just seconds before Elijah lifted his left foot and with all his strength stomped down on the earth at the base of the rock formation, causing it to cave in.

He quickly grabbed Elena and with vampire speed, took her town in the dark abyss…

When his feet hit solid granite, Elijah released Elena immediately, stepping away from her to leave before anything could be said, but she grabbed hold of his arm.

"_Wait,_ Elijah," Elena said in a soft pleading voice as she tried to regain her balance, "What's going on? Don't leave me here."

Elijah turned back and studied her for a moment, then gently removed her hand from his arm, "I _have to_ Elena."

"You _have_ to?" Elena scoffed, taken back by his words

"Please, Elena…" Elijah said, trying to turn away once more

"No!" Elena asked with narrowed eyes as she reached out and grabbed Elijah's arm again, tugging on his jacket, trying to turn him back to her, "_Why?_ Why are you doing this? Because I lied to you? Well, I did and I'm _sorry_—"

"I know Elena and it's not about that—"

"Then let me _go_." Elena said in a low voice, the tears welling in her eyes, "_Please_."

Elijah stepped forward and took the sides of her face in his hands.

To his surprise she didn't recoil. By the way she was looking back into his eyes, he thought that maybe she was waiting for him to compel her to be still and not try to escape.

He did not.

"Elena, I need you to trust me. Once I save the others, you will be free" Elijah said softly

Elena's eyes suddenly widened, as if the thought suddenly occurred to her, "The _others_? But—but what about _you_?"

Elijah's heart warmed at the thought that she might actually care about what happened to him.

"I'll be fine." Elijah reassured her

"But the champagne—" Elena said

"I didn't drink the champagne," Elijah said and he watched as Elena's eyes closed in relief as he leaned into her.

"You saved me, remember?" he whispered with a smirk

Elena gave a small smile as she looked up into his eyes.

"Please, Elijah, I'll help you in any way I can to stop Esther, just don't leave me down here alone. Let me come with you."

Elijah closed his eyes for a moment, then released her face from his hands and turned away

"I'm sorry, Elena, but its not your help, I need."

"Elijah!" Elena cried as she moved after him, and suddenly, Elijah felt all the emotions that were building up inside of him spill over—passion, anger, guilt, sadness, love—and with vampire speed, turned back and b-lined straight for her, pushing her as gently as he could back against the cavern wall.

Elena gasped as she looked up into his face and immediately he knew that his face had changed.

After a moment or two of silence, Elijah spoke.

"Please, don't make this harder that it already is, Elena," he said in a low voice as Elena stared at him dumbfounded, absentmindedly reaching out and touching the lines that were forming under his eyes.

Elijah closed his eyes at her touch as she trace her fingers down his cheek to the sides of his jaw, then he reached up and took them into his own hands before they could go anywhere else.

This seemed to bring Elena out of her trance as she watched Elijah will away his vampire features.

"Please, don't force me to choose between them and you," he said, his voice choked with emotion, mostly guilt, "because given the choice…I will always choose _you_."

There was another silence as they looked into each other's eyes and Elijah saw a tear roll down Elena's cheek

"Go." She whispered, "I'll be here."

Elijah stroked her cheek for a moment, brushing the tear away with his fingers, then pulled away quickly, disappearing into the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

Elijah let out a staggered breath as he made his way back to the Lincoln and, opening the door, threw himself into the driver's seat.

As the door closed behind him, Elijah let his head fall back on the headrest as he closed his eyes and tried to control the emotions that still washed over him.

But behind his eyelids all he saw was Elena's tear-stained face.

He grit his teeth and he opened his eyes, looking through the windshield back to the hole where he had left Elena. His nostrils flared and his mind raced as he battled with himself as to whether he should go back.

Finally, he took in a deep breath and sat up, pulling the keys from his jacket pocket and placing them in the ignition, then turning the car on.

_No, _he told himself_, don't do this to yourself. You need her in that hole. She's the perfect leverage. It's the only way to save the others. She'll be fine…_

Then, shifting the car into gear and looking over his shoulder, he backed down the path out of the woods...

When he arrived at the Salvatore House and let himself in through an open upstairs window, he saw no sign of Damon or Stefan.

He walked casually down the staircase and into the back parlor, smiling at a tumbler of blood one of them had left out on the liquor cart.

Just as Elijah moved to bring the glass to his lips for a drink, he heard Damon Salvatore approach from the hallway.

"Alaric, have you seen our little doppelganger? I'm worried. She stomped out of here this morning and I haven't seen or heard from her since." Damon said into his phone as he entered the room, causing Elijah to quick abandon the glass and move out of the way at vampire speed.

Elijah tuned in to the conversation from a far corner near the bookcase as Damon twirled his own tumbler in his hand.

"_I haven't seen Elena since… this morning."_ Came a voice on the other end that Elijah immediately identified as Alaric Saltzman

"Well, she's not answering her phone," Damon said

"_Well, I'm surprised you've had time to call with all this original sex you've been having,"_ Alaric said in a mocking tone.

This made Elijah smirk.

"Oh…" Damon said, making a face, "she told _you?_"

Elijah could hear Alaric's audible smile, _"Yeah. She told me." _

"Oh, really? Did she also tell you that she's having an attack of conscience about this whole original 'murder' thing?" Damon asked as he took the last swig of whiskey out of his tumbler

Elijah suddenly felt his heart jump into his throat. So, Elena really did care about what happened to him.

"_Hey, listen I'm not going to judge her for having a conscience." _

"Well, you don't have to judge her, you just tie her up—lock in her room, until this is over."

"_Well, I wouldn't if I could ...and I can't because I'm busy." _

"Doing _what_?" Damon asked as he refilled his glass at the liquor cart

"_Don't worry about it."  
><em>

Damon lowered the decanter as a thought came to him and he raised an eyebrow, "Are you with the sexy psycho doctor?"

"_Goodbye Damon."_ Alaric said in a stern voice and quickly hung up.

Damon angrily lowered the phone from his ear and turned the touch screen off. His eyes then wandered over to the glass of blood sitting on the cart.

Elijah decided it was time to make his move.

"Mr. Salvatore," he said, stepping out of the corner, causing Damon to immediately turn, startled, "I hear you're looking for the lovely, Elena. Perhaps I could be of assistance?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at Elijah as the Original passed him and made his way to the next room and a large chair near the fireplace, removing his coat and taking a seat.

Damon followed absentmindedly and stood in the doorway, when as if on cue, Stefan opened the front door.

"I couldn't find her anywhere…" He says as he walked into the foyer, approaching his brother.

"Hello, Stefan." Elijah said, keeping his tone even as he studied the brothers, taking in their expressions.

Damon stared at him in defiance and Stefan in stunned awe.

"He has Elena." Damon said automatically

Elijah liked Damon, always had. He was the cleverer of the two brothers. He knew the purpose behind Elijah's visit without him having to outright say it.

"Actually, she's with Rebekah…as you can imagine my sister is just _dying _to tear her throat out" Elijah said, hoping that the opening statement would put just the right amount of terror into the brothers that he wouldn't have to be physically forceful.

When he saw the expression he wanted on Stefan's face, he continued, "So, if you want to save Elena's life, I need you to help me stop my Mother."

He knew that the Salvatores were aware of Esther's plan—in fact, by the way Damon had been talking earlier, it seemed that they were counting on it.

"I'm a little embarrassed to admit that when it comes to killing thousand year-old resurrected witches…I'm a bit _rusty_." Damon snarked in reply

Elijah couldn't help but chuckle silently in his head. It was always Damon's defense mechanism to turn to sarcasm in a moment of crisis, but he did have a point and it also made Elijah realize that though his ultimate goal wasn't to kill his Mother, he still couldn't make that happen even if he did want to.

"Yes, unfortunately, even when killed my Mother doesn't seem to want to stay dead, not with the spirits of nature at her side."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Stefan asked, stepping down the stairs toward Elijah

Elijah knew this was going to be the hard part. It would mean hurting Elena, but he steeled himself and said what he had to say, finally turning that side of him—that soulless, cutthroat side of him—that side that he hated, on. After all, he tried justifying to himself, his family's lives depended on it.

"The witches that released my Mother—she is drawing power from their bloodline—that line needs to be broken."

"Broken?" Stefan asked

"Yeah," Damon said coming to Stefan's side, but still keeping his eyes on Elijah, "he means…" then brought his index finger to his throat and slid it parallel across it.

"You want us to kill them?" Stefan reaffirmed

Elijah suddenly heard himself saying, "You know I'd do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides, seeing me, they would immediately know my intent—they won't expect to be harmed by the likes of you."

He uncrossed his legs and stood from the chair, "In any case, you have until six minutes after nine to find them."

"Oh, how super specific of you…" Damon said haughtily

What Elijah would have found funny thirty seconds ago, did not seem funny to him now, not with his 'other side' driving him. He kept his face rigid as he reached over and grabbed his coat from where he had thrown it on the back of a nearby chair.

"By 9:07 the moon will be full and my Mother will have the power she needs to kill me and my family," he said sternly, looking from one brother to the other as he stepped forward, "if you _do not_ stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena."

The Salvatore Brothers didn't say anything, they only stared at the Original.

"So well all have our timeline. I suggest you get started," Elijah said, then pushed his way between the brothers and walked up the stairs, through the foyer and out the front door.

When he finally made it out the door, he was finally able to will himself back. A thousand years of vampirism had allowed him to be forceful, cruel and even sadistic when he wanted to be or really when he needed to be. But it always came at a price. It always seemed like he lost a bit himself—who he once was when he was human—in the process.  
>But, he tried not to think of that now.<br>Now he had to keep an eye on the Salvatores. Knowing Damon, he would try a Plan B before sticking with a Plan A.

He moved quietly to the side of the house and placed his hand one of the blown glass windows, using the vibrations off of the glass to enhance his hearing through the building. Doing so, he was able to pick up voices coming from the cellar of the house. They were distant and slightly muffled, but still audible.

"_We need to call Bonnie, there's gotta be a way for her to stop Esther from channeling all that power." _Stefan said

"_A—what if she's with Esther? B—what if she can't cut her off? C. I don't know how any of this stuff works and D—neither do you."  
><em>

_"Alright, you got a better plan?"  
><em>

_"Worse case scenario—simple mechanics. You can't draw power from a dead battery." _

"_Kill them." _Stefan sighed

"_If comes to that." _

"_There's gotta be another way."  
><em>

_"Well, what if I told you I had a less diabolical plan."  
><em>

_"You wanna dagger Elijah?" _

"_They're all linked—one goes down they all go down—the wiches live—Elena's safe…problem solved." _Damon assessed

"_We don't how that will effect Klaus—"_

"_Ironically, Klaus isn't our current problem."  
><em>

_"The dagger is lethal to any vampire who uses it." _

"_Well, I just so happen to know someone just crazy enough to give it a shot."_

Elijah straightened. Were they really this insane?

"_Ric, my favorite vampire hunter, I need you and your sexy doctor," he suddenly heard Damon say _

"_Oh, God, what now?" Alaric answered through his cell phone _

"_I need you to stop your little date and find an Original for me."  
><em>

_"Well, I actually wouldn't have to technically leave the Grill or my 'little date' as you put it, because two of them are right here."  
><em>

_"What?" Damon asked, stunned _

"_Yeah. Looks like Klaus and the younger one—" _

"_Kol." Damon said with a seething undertone_

_There was a silence, then Damon said, "Hmm…looks like we found a new target. I'll call you back with the plan." _

_**Shit,**_ Elijah swore under his breath and quickly removed his hand from the glass as moved quickly ran off into the night...

When Elijah reached the outskirts of the town square, he abruptly stopped and walked at human speed as not to draw attention from the pedestrians on the street.

As he made his way across to the Mystic Grill, he heard a car honk and saw Niklaus making his way after a tall blonde woman.

"Caroline!" he called

Caroline Forbes scoffed as she turned back to him.

"Are you serious?" she asked feciciously, "Take a hint."

She then backed away and started walking again.

Elijah paused on the sidewalk to tune in to their conversation

"Don't be angry love, we had a little spat." Niklaus said, following, "I'm over it already."

"Oh," Caroline said over her shoulder, in a flirtatiously hard-to-get tone, "well, I'm not."

"How can I quit myself?" Niklaus asked in quiet desperation

"You and your expensive jewelry and your romantic drawings…can leave me alone."

Elijah raised an eyebrow as he shifted his stance and put his hands in his pockets.

Niklaus never did know the first thing about courting a woman. He was always rushing and using gifts to express his feelings, not his words or his actions.

"Oh, come on, take a chance, Caroline," Niklaus pleaded, "Talk to me."

Elijah narrowed his eyes as he watched his brother soften, clearly worried about losing his chance with this girl.

"Come on," Niklaus said as he took a seat on the nearby bench, "get to know me...I dare you."

There was a moment of silence as Caroline looked at him in contemplation.

Then suddenly, she gave in.

"Fine," she said, plopping down beside him, then looked over to him staring at her, "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you." Klaus said "Your, hopes your dreams…everything you want in life

Elijah raised an eyebrow, again. This was a first—Niklaus taking an interest in someone other than himself.

"Just to be clear, I'm too smart to be seduced by you." Caroline chuckled

"Well, that's why I like you." Niklaus said with soft eyes.

Elijah sighed. How ironic was it that his brother was finally showing his soft side on the night that their Mother planned to kill them all.

He tuned out and just watched as Klaus and Caroline chatted, seemingly in grossed in what the other was saying, trying to decide if he should interrupt probably the only happiness his younger brother has had in centuries, to warn him of impending doom.

It was then that he felt it—a stabbing pain in his upper chest. Elijah immediately looked down to the front of his suit, expecting the end of a dagger to be visible through his clothes, but there was nothing.

He then felt his whole body go numb as he fell forward onto his knees and starting hyperventilating.

Then everything went dark.


	19. Chapter 19

When Elijah opened his eyes he was back in the forest, the soft grass beneath him and the sunlight reflecting through the tops of the trees.

Suddenly, he felt a presence and she appeared above him, seeming to float, a smile on her lips as her dark hair fell around him.

Her brown eyes softened as he brought his hand up to the side of her face and traced her jaw line.

But, as he studied her features harder, he realized something was not right.

He looked down to her chin, below her lip. The scar she had gotten as a child when she took a fall from a horse was not there.

Her hair was straight, not wavy.

And her neck—the necklace he had made for her when they were children was not there.

Elijah looked hard into her eyes.

It wasn't Liliya.

"Elena?" he whispered, confused

"Elijah…" she said in a soft voice, leaning closer "Come back to me."'

He closed his eyes as she kissed his lips...

There was a jolt as Elijah awoke on the sidewalk in the town square and sat up coughing, looking down to his hands as he watched the veins slowly recede and his skin turn back from gray to its normal color.

Damon must have succeeded in daggering one of them, but he, too, had still felt its effects, though he was sure he had been spared by not drinking the champagne.

"Oh, crap…" he said to himself, rolling his eyes as he stood, "this _can't _be good."

And after a quick stretch of his neck muscles and an adjustment of his suit, he started walking across the street toward the Mystic Grill.

As he approached, he noticed that Caroline and Niklaus were not on the bench where he had left them, then he heard a commotion in the back and Niklaus' voice.

"I should have killed you months ago."

"_Do it_. It's not going to stop Esther from killing you." Damon retorted

"What did you say about my Mother?"

"You didn't know I was friends with your Mummy?" Damon teased, "Yeah, we have a lot in common…she hates you as much as I do."

Elijah moved closer to the rear stairwell behind the Grill and that's when he saw them—Alaric and Kol unconscious on the stairs, Stefan injured and Klaus moving forward to attack Damon.

"Leave him!" Elijah heard himself cry.

Klaus turned back to face his older brother with defiance and anger.

"We still need him, Niklaus," Elijah justified and it was true—as insolent as Damon Salvatore could be, and even after the stunt he just pulled, they _did _still need him to find the witches and by extension, their Mother.

"What did Mother do?" Niklaus asked

Up until this moment, Elijah hadn't realized it, but he had never really planned on involving his other siblings. He had really planned on confronting Finn and his Mother himself. Niklaus' question, stirred up anger in him that Damon Salvatore had changed this plan. And worse, that he had proved by extension with the dagger, that he himself, was also linked to his siblings and therefore vulnerable to the same fate.

It suddenly made him think of Elena and how badly he wanted to live.

"What did she do, Elijah?" Niklaus pressed, but Elijah knew that the truth would only anger his brother more. He would explain on the way, but right then his focus was getting what he needed out of Damon Salvatore.

Elijah pulled his cell phone out of the inside of his jacket as he quickly descended the stairs and brushed past Niklaus to confront Damon.

"You tell me where the witches are or I'll have my sister kill Elena _right now_," he said, letting his anger come forward

"You told me we had until after nine," Damon retorted in complaint, looking over his shoulder at the clock in the town square that read quarter 'til nine.

"I'm sure Rebekah would be more than happy to start her work early," Elijah said with a raised eyebrow.

Damon looked to Stefan for a moment. When Stefan reluctantly nodded, Damon closed his eyes and gave in.

"They are holed up at the mansion where the witches burned—the same rendezvous point we used for the ritual."

"Lovely. We'll meet you there." Elijah said, then turned back to Niklaus and nodded over to Kol, "Grab Romeo and let's go."

Niklaus didn't say a word, he only eyed Damon as he walked past him to collect his younger brother from where he lay in the back entrance door way.

Elijah gave Stefan a sideways glance as he made his way back up the staircase with Niklaus closed behind, supporting Kol on his shoulders.

When they made it to the outlining edge of Harper's woods, the three brothers stopped and Niklaus released Kol and let him stand on his own now that he had regained his strength.

"What the hell is going on, Elijah?" Niklaus asked as he leaned on a nearby pine tree

Elijah took a breath, then out it came, the whole story.

How he had suspected something since the night of their Mother's return—Finn's odd behavior—the champagne toast and Elena's warning—the burnt sage—Finn's note—how they were all linked together—why Kol had been daggered—Elena in the caves—all of it.

To his credit, Niklaus listened to the whole story and did not interrupt once.

When Elijah was finished, Niklaus pushed himself off of the tree.

"Bullocks!" he cursed to himself, then started walking off into the woods.

Kol gave Elijah a glance and they both followed.

They walked nearly three miles in silence before they saw the glowing light of fire through the trees.

"Well, well…" Niklaus said haughtily, "Look what we found."

As they approached the hill that led to the front of the mansion, Elijah heard Finn's voice.

"_They're coming Mother." _

When they finally crested the hill and came face to face with their Mother and brother as the two took refuge in the pentagram circle drawn in salt.

Elijah did not see any sign of the Bennett witches.

"My sons," Esther said as they approached, "Come forward."

"Stay beside me." Finn said reaching for his Mother's hand

"It's okay," Esther replied, eyeing her sons, "They can't enter."

Elijah watched as Kol immediately walked toward the circle, but an invisible barrier stopped him dead in his tracks as the five torches placed around the circle flamed higher.

"That's lovely," Kol said angrily, pacing along the salt line, "We're stuck out here while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are Finn."

"Be quiet, Kol." Esther interrupts, "Your brother knows virtue you can't even imagine.

Finn looks to Elijah and immediately Elijah sees his guilt.

Elijah never blamed Finn for wanting death—for wishing for it. He understood more than anyone the pain of living an eternity alone. His only grudge against Finn was his cowardice in taking the rest of them down with him.

"Whatever you think of us," Elijah said, "killing your own children would be an atrocity."

"My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago." Esther said

Elijah was immediately taken aback—and he wasn't the only one—Kol also physically stepped back, but Niklaus did what Niklaus always did—he reacted rashly.

"_Enough_. All this talk is boring me." Niklaus challenged, "End this now, Mother, or I'll send you back to Hell."

Esther straightened as she looked all three of her sons in the eye and stepped forward.

"For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you—felt the pain of _every _victim," she said looking to Niklaus, then to Kol. She then turned and looked right into the dark brown eyes of her eldest son, "Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you are no better." She briefly looked to Finn and then back to her sons on the other side of the salt, "_All of you_…you are a curse on this earth, stretched out over generations."

Her eyes then turned to Elijah again. "If you've come to plead for your life…I'm sorry, you've wasted your time."

Elijah felt his heart stop. It seemed as if he was the only one she meant to say it to.

She then opened her arms and began to speak in Runic.

Elijah looked past his Mother to the mansion.

_**Damon and Stefan better hurry with whatever they are doing in there,**_ he thought

Then, as if on cue, it happened.

There was a jolt of power and their Mother opened her eyes in shock and fear as the torches in the circle erupted in flame.

The brothers all stepped back and shielded their eyes from the intense light.

"Sisters!" she cried, "Do not abandon me!"

Finn immediately stepped forward.

"Mother!" he cried as she grabbed her around the waist and dragged her away at vampire speed.  
>And when the flames subsided…their Mother and Finn were gone.<p>

The walk home was a quiet one. Kol disappeared into his room and Niklaus into his study.

Elijah went into the back parlor and sent Rebekah the text message that would assure Elena's release, then took a breath before throwing the IPhone hard against the far wall, watching as it smashed into a thousand pieces.

God, he was _so angry_.

He was angry at his Mother, but mostly he was angry at himself.

He let himself become a monster tonight—everything he had tried to leave behind.

Could he really be different? Could he really change?

Tonight proved how far he was really willing to go—that he trade his new found humanity for family loyalty.

Liliya was right. When it came to his family, could he really survive without Niklaus, Kol and Rebekah?  
>He proved tonight that when necessary, he would kill and torment for them.<p>

Was it worth it?

Elijah suddenly knew what he had to do.

He had to leave.

He had to see what he could be like without them. He needed to find his humanity, again. He needed to _live._

He owed it to himself—he owed it to Liliya… but most importantly, he owed it to Elena.

Elijah made his way to the front parlor and to his brother's study.

When he entered, he found Niklaus in his leather chair—a whiskey in his hand and his feet resting up on his desk.

Elijah sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he crossed the room to his brother.

"Interesting night…" Elijah opened

Niklaus scoffed and raised his tumbler, "Definitely a whiskey kind of night. Join me?"

Elijah closed his eyes

"God…yes." He said as he moved to the bar and took a seat on the stool, reaching over the counter and pulling out the bottle of bourbon and a glass.

As Elijah filled his tumbler, Niklaus straightened in his chair, bringing his feet down and looking toward his older brother.

"Thank you, Elijah." Niklaus said suddenly

Elijah turned back to his brother as he took the first swig of his drink

Niklaus smirked and raised an eyebrow, "For not just letting us die…especially me."

Elijah smiled, "_I could have_, you know."

Niklaus straightened, his face serious, "Why didn't you?"

Elijah's face softened, "Because, no matter what you have become, you _are _and always _will be_ my brother, Niklaus. I've looked out for you—protected you—given you my loyalty in both my human and my vampire life. And no matter how hard I try, I could never just let that go. I could never really _kill _you, as much as I may want to—we are family."

Niklaus set his drink down and studied his brother for a moment, "Always and forever."

Elijah raised his glass, "Always and forever…"

Niklaus let out a staggered breath, then reached down and opened the side drawer of his desk, pulling out a small leather portfolio.

"I have something for you." He said as he stood from behind his desk and walked toward Elijah.

Elijah set down his glass on the bar counter and eyed the gift as Niklaus held it out to him.

"What is it?"

Niklaus smiled, "I was saving it for your birthday—"

Elijah raised an eyebrow, "But you've _never _given me a birthday gift."

"Well, I'm mending my ways," Niklaus smirked, thrusting the leather book out to Elijah, "Besides, I know you'll probably be leaving now, you being the quiet hero and all, so think of it as a parting gift, also."

Elijah sighed and finally took it into his hands, still eying his brother suspiciously.

When he untied the string on the side of the book and opened it, his breath caught.

"Niklaus…" Elijah whispered, but no other words came as he stared down into the charcoal portrait face of who he thought at first to be Elena Gilbert, but soon realized was someone else entirely.

"After the Salvatores left the night of our little dinner party, I was drawing and-well, I just had the urge to see her, again." Niklaus said with a soft smile.

"Thank you, for this." Elijah replied with a trembling voice, still studying the portrait

He could see Niklaus open his mouth out of the corner of his eye as if he wanted to say so much more, but immediately silenced himself. Instead, Elijah felt his brother's hand on his arm.

"Take care of yourself?" Niklaus whispered

Elijah looked up into his brother's eyes and nodded.

After a moment, Elijah closed the leather book and grabbed Niklaus, bringing him into a tight embrace.

Niklaus tensed for a moment as if in shock, then for the first time since they were human, Elijah felt his brother's arms around him.

Elijah smiled.

That was the real secret—the reason why he was never really, truly able to kill Niklaus—was never able to turn his back on him.

He was probably the only person on earth who still remembered who Niklaus Mikaelson _really _was, even when Niklaus couldn't remember himself...

Elijah stood in the tree line across the street from the Gilbert house for over an hour, waiting for Elena to arrive home.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw her come down the front sidewalk and up the front porch, unharmed, pulling her house keys out of her jacket pocket and unlocking the front door.

A few minutes later, the light in the front window—her bedroom-turned on and Elijah could see her cross her room and suddenly stop next to her bed.

She looked down to the comforter with a curious look then her eyes moved around the room as if expecting someone to appear.

After a few moments, when no one did, she picked up the envelope and opened it as she walked to her window seat and read it.

**Elena,**

**Today I did things I abhor to protect the one thing I value most-my family. **

**If anyone can understand that, it's you. **

**Your compassion is a gift, Elena. **

**Carry it with you –as I will carry my regret. **

**Always and Forever,  
>Elijah<strong>

Elijah's eyes softened as he watched through the window as Elena's sadness turned to curiosity as she realized the heaviness of the envelope and raised an eyebrow, then set the letter down beside her and turned the envelope over.

A black velvet bag fell out of the bottom of the envelope and into her hand.

She eyed it for a moment, then pulled the drawstring and opened the bag.

She pulled out a 3x5 rolled up piece paper, but didn't unfold it.

When she turned the bag over in her hand, only one more thing came out.

It was a small, wooden, heart charm about the size of a gold dollar.

It was hand-carved, with a fine intricate vine and flower etching down the middle and hung from a leather rope necklace.

Elena smiled, taking in its simple beauty, then letting the necklace wrap around her hand, carefully unrolled the piece of paper.

As she did, her breath caught when she realized it was a hand-drawn charcoal portrait.

Elena thought it was herself at first, but after a studying it for a moment realized it wasn't her.

There was a look behind the eyes that was different and the young woman in the portrait had long, dark, curly hair that was braided back, woven in flowers, and fell over one shoulder.

_And _she was wearing the heart-shaped necklace Elena now held in her hand.

At first, Elena thought it was Katherine, but something in her gut told her it wasn't. Also, there was a small smile on the woman's lips that seemed too kind for Katherine.

Then, Elena suddenly noticed something in the corner of the portrait— the signature of the artist.

**_'Liliya'_**

**_Klaus '2012_**


	20. Chapter 20

Elijah sighed as stepped back into the darkness.

"It's good to know that in a world where even our own Mother wants to kill us, _some_ things never change." Kol smiled as he came to Elijah's side, "Like where to find a love-sick vampire."

"What are you doing here?" Elijah asked, furrowing his brow in surprise

"I'm on my way out of town. I came to say goodbye." Kol said, turning to Elijah

"Where will you go?" Elijah asked

"Some place to forget my troubles, _preferably _someplace with lots of booze and pretty women…"

"_Kol…_" Elijah chided as he turned to his brother

"I know_… I know_…" Kol said defensively, placing one hand over his heart and the other in the air in a three finger salute, "I give you my Scout's honor that I will do my best to stay _on _the wagon and enjoy the treats, but not taste them, because if I do my big brother will hunt me down and read me the riot act—"

"And I _will_." Elijah insisted with narrowing eyes

"Oh, I believe you," Kol said, lowering his hands with a good natured smile, "I believe that you _would_ subscribe to over a hundred different newspapers just to keep tabs on me. I'm _also _going to check my jacket pocket later for a possible GPS tracking device."

"What are brothers for?" Elijah cocked an eyebrow

Kol smirked with a nod as Elijah stepped forward

"But, you know that it's not just the humans I'm concerned about, right?" Elijah asked in a low voice

Kol straightened and looked Elijah in the eyes.

"I know…and Thanks," he said

Elijah did sincerely hope that Kol knew that after all this time and after all they had been through, that Elijah would always try to protect and save Kol from _himself _before all else.

Elijah jerked his head back in the direction of the mansion.

"Did you say goodbye to the siblings?" he asked, stepping back

"No. Niklaus and I, well, you know that _that's_ never been the easiest of relationships and Rebekah—she still hates my guts after what happened at the ball…so I think it's probably best if I just go now and drop a postcard in the mail later."

Elijah nodded in understanding.

"What about you?" Kol asked, looking over to Elena still sitting in her window, "Are you leaving?"

Elijah followed his brother's glance to the window, "Yes."

"Figures." Kol smiled

"Now, what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Elijah. I sensed it on you the moment I awoke in this godforsaken Frank Capra town. This girl has drawn your humanity out of you so far that tonight when you had to change back into 'bad-ass Elijah' to save us, you found that you couldn't live with yourself afterwards."

Elijah stayed silent as he continued to stare at Elena through the glass

Kol looked over to his brother, "Am I right?"

Elijah took a breath and looked down to his hands.

"I don't _deserve _her, Kol. She shouldn't be with someone like that—with a _monster_—"

"No," Kol said, shaking his head, trying to meet his brother's gaze, "_I'm_ a monster—you are not a monster, Elijah—"

"How do you _know_ that?" Elijah said looking up, his voice rising, "You've been dead for over a century—you have _no idea_ what I've done!"

"A monster is impulsive—a monster takes _pleasure_ in the destruction he causes—that's me, Elijah, not _you_! You only ever did what you _had to_. It's not the same, believe me."

Elijah scoffed as he looked back up to Elena's now empty window as the bedroom light flickered off.

"I always had a choice, Kol…we all did." Elijah lamented, "And more than once, I've chosen wrong."

There was a moment's pause, then Kol shrugged, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Ultimately, it's _your _decision. But just for the record, I think you are making a mistake."

"Thanks for that" Elijah chuckled

"Hey, what are brothers for, right?" Kol laughed, tightening his grip on Elijah's shoulder, "I speak only the truth…well, the _evil _truth."

Elijah smiled as he turned and pulled Kol into an embrace

"Jeg vil savne deg…" Elijah said, his face softening

"I'll miss you, too." Kol replied

And when Elijah released him, Kol broke into vampire speed and raced off into the night…

Five minutes later, Elijah walked slowly through the moonlit darkness of Elena's room as he moved to her bedside.

As he approached, he saw Klaus' drawing of Liliya where she had left it lying on the bedside table.

He smiled with reverence as he picked it up and studied it.

"_I've waited a hundred years…_

_But, I'd wait a million more for you…_

_Nothing prepared me for what the privilege of being yours would do."_

Elijah took a breath and closed his eyes.

And she was there standing before him in the forest of their youth.

He reached out for her and touched her olive skin as she stepped closed to him, smiling sweetly as the afternoon sun danced on her dark, wavy hair.

"_If I had only felt the warmth within your touch…_

_If I had only seen how you smile when you blush…_

_Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough…"_

First, their foreheads touched, then their noses as he leaned forward and kissed her.

"_I would have known what I've was living for all along…_

_What I've been living for."_

Elijah exhaled and opened his eyes. He carefully placed the picture back on the night stand and looked over to Elena asleep on the other side of the bed.

She lay on her left side facing him, her dark hair angelic on the pillow.

He could hear her soft breaths and her steady heart beat as he lay himself down on top of the covers in the empty spot next to her.

He smiled as he turned his head and watched her sleep so peacefully, her face smoothed out and all the worry in it seemingly erased.

"_Your love is my turning page…_

_Where only the sweetest words remain…"_

And suddenly he remembered every moment they shared together.

When she opened the door that morning and smiled when she saw him…

Every time she touched his arm in reassurance…

The glance they had shared during the dance at the ball…

The feeling of her lips on his the night of the ritual when he had kissed her in his apartment…

"_Every kiss is a cursive line…_

_Every touch is a redefining phrase."_

He absentmindedly reached out and brought the back of his right hand to stroke her right cheek, tracing her jaw line down to her lips.

He concentrated on her face as he slowly moved his fingertips over the dent in her chin below her lower lip, bringing it to rest on the other side of her jaw.

"_I surrender who I've been, for who you are… _

_Nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart."_

His hand then followed the line of her jaw down the side of her neck as his eyes caught sight of Liliya's necklace and his fingertips traced the line of Elena's collarbone before he brought them to rest on the intricately shaped heart charm.

Elijah closed his eyes and a tear ran down his cheek.

When he opened them, he had almost expected Liliya to be lying next to him like she had done so often a thousand years before.

But, he was happy to find Elena there instead_, _still breathing softly, her eyes dancing under their lids.

"_If I had only felt how it feels to be yours, _

_I would have known what I've been living for all along…_

_What I've been living for."_

Elijah carefully leaned forward, closing the space between them.

He softly brushed the hair out of her face as he moved closer and whispered in her ear.

"Goodbye, sweet girl. Jeg vil elske deg for alltid."

He then kissed the temple on the right side of her forehead, his heart swelling with love and pain all at the same time.

He didn't want to leave her behind—this fragile human girl—but something in his gut told him it was the right thing to do for now.

And so he left as quickly and as quietly as he had come before Elena could stir and wake.

But he was sure, as he left through the front door, that he heard her voice as she awoke groggily upstairs.

"Elijah?"

When Elijah returned to the mansion, it took all of his willpower to not give in to his emotions.

He was so conflicted.

He was standing front parlor, staring out the window into night, when he suddenly felt Rebekah's presence and moment later, she walked through threshold into the room.

"Where the bloody hell _is_ everyone?" she asked haughtily

"It's over Rebekah." Elijah said solemnly, still staring out through the glass

He suddenly felt Rebekah's eyes on him.

"Where's Mother?" she asked worriedly

"We have no _Mother_," he said, as he turned away from the window to his sister, casually resting a hand on a nearby table, "Only Esther. And Esther was right."

Elijah knew that their Mother—their true Mother died in 1044 A.D. This person had been different. He had sensed it from the beginning. It had been centuries and all of them had changed, but no one more so than their Mother, who had been trapped on the other side, forced to watch her children make havoc of the world. Elijah didn't hold it against her, it would have changed _anyone, _but he had known before any of his siblings that the Mother they knew when they were children, was no longer. Esther was who they had met tonight—the Original Witch who had cursed them.

"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked, narrowing her eyes

"For all my talk of virtue," Elijah said, stepping forward, his eyes cast down and his voice breaking with emotion as he remembered Esther's words to him that night, "when it suits my needs, I kill, mame and torment. And today I terrorized an innocent—"

"Elena is hardly an innocent!" Rebekah interrupted as Elijah moved in closer to her

"And I used your hatred of her to get what I wanted," he said, his eyes boring into Rebekah's and Rebekah recoiled as she saw the raw guilt and emotion in his eyes, "I wielded you like I would a sword… my sister…"

He looked away ashamed as Rebekah took a breath and stepped forward

"You did it to protect us, Elijah, and rightly so! We deserve to live. We are better than they are."

Elijah turned back to his sister, "Are we?"

Rebekah straightened as she saw the genuine question in Elijah's eyes and Elijah knew that Rebekah knew that he didn't believe that.

"Mother made us vampires," Elijah said, "She didn't make us monsters…we did _that_ to ourselves."

Rebekah looked away for a moment as if processing this as Elijah studied her.

When he found she had nothing to say in return, he knew he had made his point and gave a half hearted smile as he walked out of the room.

When he reached the foyer, he grabbed his coat off of the staircase banister and a rolling suitcase from its spot where it leaned against the wall.

"Wait. You're leaving?"

Elijah turned back and immediately saw Rebekah take in the scene of him with his coat in one hand and his suitcase in the other. Rebekah shook her head as she b-lined straight for him. He barely had time to open his arms before she threw herself into his embrace.

He rested his chin on the crown of her golden hair for a moment and closed his eyes.

"Please don't go. There's still—" She whispered

"I _have to, _Rebekah…it's complicated," he said, bringing his hand to rest on the back of her hair, stroking her locks, "But, I promise it won't be a hundred years before we see each other again."

Rebekah sniffed as she pulled back to face her older brother

"Take care of him," Elijah said, nodding toward Niklaus' study where he sensed his brother was still holed up, "For _me,_ please. Don't let him doing anything stupid."

Rebekah half smiled, "I'll do my best."

Elijah stroked his sister's cheek, "Goodbye, Bekah."

Rebekah closed her eyes.

"Now I really _hate _Elena…" she whispered, shaking her head

"_No._" Elijah said taking his sister's face in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes, "This isn't just about her. It's about _me._ _I _need this Rebekah and I need you to understand that."

Rebekah exhaled, searching her brother eyes before bringing herself under control and nodding

Elijah leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"Til vi møtes igjen, søster."

He then turned out of Rebekah's embrace and grabbed his things before walking through the front door out to the waiting Lincoln.


	21. Chapter 21

Four Days Later…

It was a rainy night in Chicago as Elijah stepped out of a cab on the strip near Lincoln Park.

"Thank you," he said matter-of-factly to the cab driver through the half open passenger window, handing him a hundred dollar bill.

"Hey, Dude! It's only forty!" the grungy young man in his early thirties cried out the window after Elijah in a voice already gruff from smoking too many cigarettes, but the original didn't hear him, he was already walking quickly up the sidewalk, stepping under the building overhang to keep dry.

As he approached his destination, he could hear the voices of a loud crowd and the thumping of a bass through the brick walls and a line was forming on the sidewalk outside the nightclub.

_**Well, this is a snag...**_ Elijah thought as he rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, stepping into form at the end of the line and studied the Saturday night crowd of middle age singles and college students dressed in scantily clad clothes.

He glanced down at his own apparel—a dark black sport coat and pants and red velvet colored dress shirt with a red tie—and chuckled at how completely out of place he must look to any passerby.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had noticed.

One of the college girls standing in front of him had broken away from her friends' conversation and was eying him with a smirk.

She looked barely of drinking age and had multiple piercings and blue streaked hair, and her black mini skirt went higher than Elijah wanted to think about.

"Hey," she said, nodding toward Elijah as she crossed her arms over her Creedence Clearwater Revival t-shirt and popped the gum in her mouth, "you look like you're here for business, not to party."

"I am." Elijah smirked

"You with the band?" the girl asked, cocking an eyebrow

"The band?" Elijah asked, genuinely confused

"Yeah," the girl said, jerking her head toward the nightclub, "John Fogerty's playing tonight—you look like his manger or something."

"No." Elijah said

The girl slowly nodded, processing this as she eyed Elijah's outfit again for a moment.

"Well, you stick out like a sore thumb back here." She smiled

"Yes, I'm starting to noticed that…" Elijah cocked an eyebrow, "I think it's the shirt."

The girl chuckled, then pointed to the head of the line, "You should talk to Steve, he's the bouncer here. If you've got business, he'll let you in. And if you get desperate, just _say_ you're with the band. I think he'll believe you."

"Thanks," Elijah said as he stepped out of line, "By the way, I like your necklace."

The girl looked down to the glow stick around her neck and smiled, trying to hold back her laughter as she popped a large gum bubble, "Um…Thanks, I guess…"

Moments later, when Elijah reached the head of the line, he came face to face with a tall, muscular, middle aged, mulatto man in a tight black t-shirt and designer jeans, whom he presumed was Steve.

His logic was confirmed when he saw the bouncer's name badge.

The man closed the door behind four night life regulars and turned back to the front of the crowd, coming face to face with Elijah.

"Hey, GQ," Steve said, eying Elijah's outfit, "You got a hot girlfriend in there or something?"

Elijah furrowed his brow, "No."

Steve cocked an eyebrow, "Boyfriend?"

Why did everyone think he was gay? Note to self: no more red-velvet colored dress shirts.

"No." He confirmed

"Then what can I do for you pretty boy?" Steve asked, straightening to his full height.

Elijah smirked to himself for a moment as he glanced toward the back of the line and to the girl he had spoken to earlier, then his eyes moved back to Steve.

"Actually, I'm with the band," he said, casually straightening his jacket

Steve studied Elijah for a moment, then shrugged and stepped back

"Cool, man…" he said pulling the door open and holding it for Elijah as he passed

But before he crossed the threshold, Elijah reached into his front jacket pocket and peeled off two hundred dollar bills, holding them up to the bouncer between his first and second fingers.

"The girl with the blue hair at the back of the line…let her and her friends through."

"You got it." Steve said as he plucked the money out of Elijah's hand and watched him cross into the abyss.

In his thousand years on this earth, Elijah had never been a very social creature. Even in the last century, he hardly frequented public gathering places like bars, restaurants or nightclubs. Niklaus loved them and so did Rebekah. Elijah mostly stayed and home while his sibling ventured out.

His first observations as he looked around the dark, crowded, and noisy room with strange colored lights, was that he really hadn't missed anything special a these centuries.

It smelled of blood and sweat and alcohol…charming. But, if he was going to find who he was looking for, this was the place.

Suddenly, a noise emanated from the stage nearby and the crowd on the dance floor roared as an electric guitar amp tuned and a man in his fifties stepped to the microphone.

It was John Fogerty.

Elijah smiled.

Well, at least he could say he had aged better than John Fogerty.

The former Creedence Clearwater Revival front man raised his beer in a salute then his eyes dilated and Elijah knew that he had been compelled.

"This is by special request." the musician said

He then took a swig of the beer and set it on top of a nearby amp as the band started playing the opening chords of the classic song and the cheers got louder.

Elijah recognized it immediately and raised an eyebrow, looking around the room.

He knew the special request was for him and he knew just who had requested it.

"_Whoa, there was a nightmare, low it all so true…_

_They told me don't go walkin' slow, the devil's on the loose…_

_Better run through the jungle…_

_Better run through the jungle..._

_Better run through the jungle and don't look back to see." _

Elijah opened his senses as he began to weave his way through the crowd toward the bar on the other side of the room.

"_Thought I heard a rumblin', callin' to my name…_

_Two hundred million guns are loaded, Satan cries 'take aim!'…_

_Better run through the jungle…_

_Better run through the jungle…_

_Better run through the jungle and don't look back to see."_

A young couple moved off of a pair of bar stools to dance as Elijah approached and he easily slid on to one of them, tapping the counter to the rhythm of the song as he waited for the bartender, a tall, blonde young man, who looked like a walking Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement, to come down to his end.

When he finally did, he smiled as he tossed a coaster in front of Elijah, "What's the poison going to be GQ?"

Elijah smirked and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, another bartender turned around from the other side of the counter, throwing a towel over his shoulder as he patted 'Abercrombie and Fitch' on the back.

"Hey, Trevor, I got this one."

Elijah smiled and folded his hands, leaning forward across the bar as the blonde shrugged and his younger brother came into view.

"Hello, Kol." Elijah said in good humor

"Damn, GPS tracking device…I should have known…" Kol said under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief as he pulled a bottle of bourbon and a tumbler from underneath the counter and poured his older brother a drink.


	22. Chapter 22

_((Thank you all for your patience and support these last few chapters. I've been writing in spurts lately as my schedule has been a little weird, but I'm hoping to crank out another chapter or two before the new episodes air in two weeks. YAY! Anyway, enjoy this next chapter, though there won't be any music in this one. LOL! That was a little experiment. My friend commented that I should use some music like some people do in their fanfics, so I tried it in Chapter 20 and 21. The songs fit the moods of the scenes, but I wouldn't say I'm fabulous at writing "music scenes" in fan-fics, I leave that to the professionals. But, hey, if you guys like them, I'll throw them in every once in a while. And if you are curious, the song lyrics I put in the scene when Elijah lies down with Elena in her bedroom before he leaves town is "Turning Page" by the awesome band Sleeping at Last. It was a song that was sort of playing in the back of my mind when I wrote the scene and I think it sort of worked. The song that plays when Elijah enters the nightclub in Chicago is "Run Through The Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. I'm not sure how John Fogerty feels about being in a vampire fan-fic, but I love you John, so I hope you're okay with it!:) Anyway, enough prattle. Look up the music if you need a reference, but otherwise enjoy this chapter! And as always, THANKS FOR READING!))_

"So what happened to the newspapers?" Kol asked over the music, "What made you go all twenty first century and stick a tracking device on me? It was just a suggestion by the way, I didn't think that you would actually do it."

Elijah took a drink from his tumbler then answered.

"First-newspapers, I found, are sadly a dying thing of the past. It's all internet news now and I'm terrible with computers. Second-I didn't put a tracking device on you, _per-say_, I paid a teenager I met on the street to help me find you by GPS tracking your phone."

"You're amazing the way you just give away money."

"What else am I going to do with it?"

"Niklaus told me you once gave three hundred dollars to a street musician in Mystic Falls."

Elijah shrugged, "He needed it more than I did."

"St. Elijah." Kol mused

Elijah raised his tumbler, "That's me."

Kol scoffed as he nodded toward the stage as the band started to wind down the song.

"For three hundred dollars you should have had the musician give you lesson, then you could join in on the harmonica, St. Elijah. I know you like Creedence."

"And just how do you know that?" Elijah asked

Kol raised an eyebrow, "Elijah, please, I've ridden in your car with you."

"Okay," Elijah smiled relentingly, taking another drink, "I do like Creedence."

Kol shrugged, "Well, when I saw you walk through the door, I just wanted to give you a little welcome. John was at the bar getting a drink and I just asked him politely to play a song for you."

Elijah smiled, "'Run through the Jungle'? Do I really scare you that much?"

"Yes." Kol answered without skipping a beat

Elijah took another drink, "Good."

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he turned his head saw the blue haired girl from the line outside the club.

"Hi." she said, "I just wanted to say thanks for helping my friends and I get in."

Elijah smiled politely, "Well, I owed you. Your advice worked."

"Well, it doesn't mean you shouldn't change the shirt," the girl smirked, looking down to his outfit.

"Point taken," Elijah chuckled

The girl waved as her friends pulled her back out on the dance floor.

Kol pulled the bar towel off of his shoulder and leaned across the counter to his brother, "Well, that's sweet, making friends with the locals are we?"

"She was just a girl I met outside." Elijah said, twirling his tumbler

"Really?" Kol asked, looking after the girl

"And since you brought up the subject, how are you doing in that regard?" Elijah asked, raising his glance to his brother, "'making friends with the locals'..."

Kol took a breath, then lowered his voice, begrudgingly picking up the towel.

"I've killed two." He said, tossing it back over his shoulder, seemingly in shame.

Elijah sat forward and reached for his brother's arm, catching Kol by surprsise as the youngest orginal's eyes focused on Elijah.

"That's good, Kol," he said reassuringly, "That's _really_ good."

Kol straightened, "I've been trying. I think being out in the world, getting a job and all and not 'creature of the night'ing' it anymore has really helped, but I'm not going to lie, Elijah, the urges are still there—"

"And they always _will be_ Kol. For you, it's not about turning that part of you off, it's about control, I know that. I never expected you to quit cold turkey. It's going to take time."

"Thanks," Kol nodded, reaching for Elijah's empty glass, "Another?"

"Fill her up." Elijah said, leaning back, releasing his grip on his brother

"So how did you get this job anyway?" Elijah asked taking in the room

Kol smirked as he poured Elijah another bourbon, "I compelled the manager."

"Interesting..."

"You disapprove of my methods? I know you personally don't like to compel people—"

Elijah raised a hand, "I understand that you did what you had to do to get this job. You don't exactly have a social security card, Kol."

Kol smirked as he put the bourbon bottle back behind the counter and slid the glass back toward his brother.

"_However_," Elijah continued, "Compelling John Fogerty…" he trailed off, shaking his finger in disapproval

Kol rolled his eyes, "It was just for fun."

"Messing with people's minds when you don't have to is not right, Kol."

Kol gave a cheeky smile as he looked up toward the stage, "Oh, come on, Elijah, he's lived through the sixties. From what I understand about that era, he's probably had _worse things_ screw with his mind."

Elijah smiled, trying to hold back a chuckle, then raised his glass toward his brother, "Touché"

After a drink, Elijah's face turned more serious.

"So, what was with the cryptic message you sent me yesterday on my phone?"

"Message?" Kol asked playfully, wiping out glasses behind the bar

"Yes, the message that brought me here-the one that read "Nik needs our help. Yikes! Come meet me. Kol'

Thinking about it just then made Elijah laugh a little on the inside, mostly because his brother, once a scurge on ancient europe, had used the word 'yikes'.

"Oh, _that_ message." Kol smirked

"Yes." Elijah nodded, "Though you left your location _or_ where you wanted to meet a mystery, hence the James Bond-esque use of the GPS tracking."

"You're really proud of yourself about that, aren't you?" Kol asked

Elijah smiled, "It's one of my new tricks, yes. Now tell me what's going on."

"Well, Niklaus came to see me two days ago, he tracked me down and said that he needed my help. He said he'd been trying to track you down as well, but he couldn't because something was blocking him—"

"Well, I've got some witches I know covering my tracks."

"He said he tried calling you and you didn't answer your phone."

"I've wanted to be alone, Kol, so yes, I turned off my cell phone. If it was such a dire emergency, why didn't he text me like you did?"

"You know Nik," Kol rolled his eyes as he stacked the glasses, "He probably didn't thing of that. Besides, he can't text to save his life. I convinced him to get one of those pen things for the screen, but even that's a little iffy."

"So what is the situation?" Elijah asked

"He said something about needing to unbind us—that the spell our Mother cast has left us… 'vulnerable'—"

"Vulnerable to _what?"_ Elijah asked with a raised brow as he raised his drink to his lips, "We severed the Bennett line, so Mother no longer has the strength to kill us with magic, unless she finds another way sometime soon, which I _do not_ foresee. Worse case scenario—we all get daggered and its not like that hasn't happened before and it's not likely to happen again any time soon because Niklaus has most of the daggers in his possession."

When Elijah lowered his drink to the counter, he suddenly noticed Kol go very still as he looked around the room like an animal in the woods who had sensed a hunter. He then removed the bar towel slowly from his shoulder and tossed it aside before shooting a worried glance at Elijah, motioning for his brother to follow him.

Elijah narrowed his eyes, then downed the rest of his drink in one gulp as he stood from his stool and followed Kol toward the back exit.

When they were in the narrow alley way, Kol turned back to Elijah.

"It seems we have a weakness that's cropped up—something that makes spells and daggers look like child's play—"

Elijah straightened, his mind racing as to why his brother looked so worried-worried enough to move their locations like-like he didn't wish for their conversation to be overheard.

"What do you mean?" Elijah finally found himself asking

"I _mean,_" Kol said, looking around again, then stepping forward, "that Nik and Rebekah recently discovered that there is another weapon out there that could _kill us, _Elijah –all of us—permanently. According to Nik, we need to unbind ourselves, then find it before Elena and her friends do and use it against us."

"Elena wouldn't do something like that, she wouldn't be that stupid, not after Klaus has decided to let her and her friends live." Elijah said in a low voice, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Maybe _she_ wouldn't be that stupid, but the Salvatore Brothers _would be._" Kol retorted angrily

"What exactly is this 'weapon'?" Elijah asked curiously

Kol recoiled for a moment, then exhaled a breath

"Kol?" Elijah asked confused

"I can't say it—not here—we aren't the _only_ vampires around…" Kol whispered, raising his eyebrows in an intentional warning

Elijah straightened and moved closer to his brother, his eyes focusing as they locked with Kol's.

He narrowed his eyes in a silent question, one that Kol immediately answered with a nod.

He was asking if he could read his brother's mind.

Elijah took a breath, then reached out his hand and touched the side of Kol's forehead.

Immediately images flooded his brain at the touch of his brother's skin.

In a flash, he was standing in the forest a thousand years earlier with his family, watching as Mikael and Niklaus placed torches at the base of the great white oak tree—the same tree their Mother had called on to give them eternal life—quickly setting it a blaze in the darkness...

Then it jumped to Niklaus standing in front of Kol in his apartment in the present day, holding a cell phone out to Kol with an image of the native calendar...

It then flashed again to Niklaus scrolling to another image of a native drawing of the great white oak tree and it's life cycle...

Elijah quickly pulled his hand back from Kol's temple, breaking the flow of images. He had seen enough and by doing a quick calculation in his head, based on what he saw on the native calendar. His people also used this calendar when he was a boy to keep track of the seasons, and by extension, the years and the moment he saw it, he knew what had happened.

There was another white oak tree.

According to the native calendar, it was planted sometime around the fall season three hundred years after his family left their homeland—so sometime in the 14th century. If that tree still stood somewhere in Stephens woods today or if it had been cut down and used to build a structure of some kind in Mystic Falls and the structure itself still stood, then they _were_ in serious danger.

Kol was right. If Stefan or Damon Salvatore, _especially Stefan_, knew that such a powerful weapon existed they would not hesitate to stake Niklaus-he was their original target after all—whereby killing their whole family in the process.

"Does Finn know?" Elijah suddenly asked in a worried tone

"You mean does _Mother_ know?" Kol asked, then scoffed, "She's the one we should worry about finding out. Finn's just collateral damage. He has a death wish, Elijah, and we can't change that."

"He's still our brother, Kol. He deserves to know regardless, it's the principal—"

Elijah immediately stopped and turned around as he sensed the presence of another individual—it was a familiar scent mixed with a vampire's scent.

"And you are _nothing_ if not a man of principal…am I right?" a sweet voice asked from the mouth of the alleyway.

It couldn't be…

Elijah took an instinctive step back and Kol followed his lead as a tall, slender figure walked forward out of the Chicago night fog, her tall black leather boots clicking on the old brick beneath their feet. As she came closer and her features finally came into full view, Elijah felt thousands of emotions suddenly flood his consciousness all at once—love, anger, hate, betrayel…

"Katherine," Elijah whispered in shock

For some reason, he thought she would be dead by now. But, in that moment, his gut told him he should have known better—he should have known that she was still a survivor, even after all this centuries.

Always had been, always will be.

Katherine cocked her head, flipping her dark curly hair over her shoulder as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her designer jacket and struck a model stance.

She smiled at Elijah.

"Hello, Lover."


	23. Chapter 23

Elijah's confusion at her words immediately subsided when he realized that she was only looking at him to make sure he wasn't going to attack her—it was Kol that the greeting was addressed to.

Katherine turned her eyes quickly on the youngest Mikaelson and gave a provoking wink.

Kol let out a growl and his eyes and fangs changed in an instant as he lurched forward at her.

But, Elijah moved with vampire speed and grabbed Kol behind the shoulders, restraining him.

"Hold him back, Elijah," Katherine said in a warning voice, raising a hand and straightening to her full height, "Or I will leave here and you will never find out why I was insane enough to come here in the first place."

Whatever it was, it had to be enlightening, Elijah thought. Katherine had pretty much made herself scarce since the night of their confrontation in the tomb beneath Fell's Church when he released Stefan for Elena. Damon had mentioned during their first meeting after his awakening that Katherine had proved useful to their cause. He had even asked Elijah not to kill Katherine. Little did Damon know, that while he had always felt betrayed by Katherine, he never intended to kill her.

Kol continued to struggle in Elijah's grip, not willing to give in.

"Let me _go_, Elijah! I'm going to tear her throat out!" he screamed

"Not until I find out why she's here," Elijah said, casting a glance at Katherine, then closing his eyes, made a difficult decision, "I'm sorry, Kol."

Then applying hard pressure on the back of his brother's neck, snapped it, gently lowered Kol's lifeless body down onto the stones.

Katherine took a step toward Elijah as the oldest original stood and straightened his jacket.

"I like the suit—" she smiled, her eyes running over him seductively

"_Why_ are you here?" Elijah asked in a stern voice, shoving his hands in his pockets, deflecting her advances.

Katherine's face hardened and she cocked an eyebrow

"You want to skip the niceties? _Fine_. I'm here to help you."

"_Help me?"_ Elijah scoffed, "Why?"

"Because you don't want to see Elena get hurt."

Elijah's eyes softened

"I don't," he confirmed in a low voice

"Well, I don't want to see Stefan get hurt and if the gung ho Scoobies find out about the white oak tree that we both know now exists and they go ahead with their not so brilliant plan before they know _who_ it is exactly that they are staking, it won't matter if you and your siblings or unbound or not, it's curtains for him. _So, like I said_, I'm here to help you."

"And ultimately help _you_." Elijah chided, "Why should I believe anything you have to tell me?"

"Why do you hate me so? Katherine asked in a soft voice, her eyes softening and for the first time in five hundred years, Elijah saw Katerina Petrova, the _human _Katerina Petrova.

"I never _hated _you Katerina…I just hunted you…" Elijah said in a low voice, looking down as he shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

"Why?" Katherine asked again

"You know why…"

_**England, 1492**_

_Elijah woke early and took breakfast in his chambers while he finished the last chapters of his book. _

_At around 10'oclock he dressed and opened his bedroom door, making his way, with book in hand, down the castle's long dark torch lit hallway._

_As he bounded down the stone steps, he heard a voice greet him._

"_Good Morning, my lord," Geoffrey, the old manservant bowed, handing Elijah his sword as he made it to the landing. _

"_Thank you," Elijah said with a courteous nod, taking the sword and slinging the belt over his waist._

_As Elijah moved down the main hall, he stopped and, tucking the book under his arm, pulled the final piece of his wardrobe from the pocket inside his vest—it was a silver insignia ring. _

_Elijah looked it over with reverence for a moment then kissed it and placed it on his right pinky finger._

_He then turned, intending to enter the library to return the book he had been reading and that is when he saw her, staring up at him from a chair in the corner of the room._

_She sat alone in the sunshine of the window, her chocolate eyes ran over him for a moment longer and then she stood and curtsied._

"_My Lord…" she said as she lowered herself_

_Elijah quickly placed the book on a nearby table and rushed forward to her, lifting her up by her arm gently. _

"_Please. There is no need for that in my presence." He said in a low voice_

_She seemed stunned, but relieved. _

"_Good morning Katerina," he smiled _

"_Good morning," she replied softly following his informal lead_

_Their eyes locked for a moment and Elijah felt a course of hope and warmth run through his veins—something he hadn't felt for a very, very long time. _

"_What have you been reading?" Katerina asked curiously, breaking her gaze away and looking toward the table where Elijah left the book he had been carrying._

"_Ah…" Elijah said, "'The Prince' by Machiavelli. Have you read it?" _

"_It sounds political. I'm not good with politics," she smiled nervously_

_Elijah turned back to her, "It's not just about politics, it's about humanity and leadership—it's quite fascinating. I could read it to you if you like. We could discuss it."_

"_That would be lovely." Katerina nodded, then her face turned sad and it suddenly occurred to Elijah what a caged animal this beautiful young girl had become. _

_First, she had been forced to leave her homeland and now she was practically a prisoner in the castle of a Lord who kept her, not as a true love interest or companion, but as a means to an end. They had talked many times of her homesickness and Elijah did what he could to ensure that she was as happy as possible in her new home. He had moved her room to one with a more stunning view—he had ordered new dresses for her—he had also asked the cook to prepare a dish she had once mentioned she loved from her homeland when he found out it was her birthday—none of this she knew was his doing, of course, but he enjoyed doing it for her all the same.  
><em>

_He liked seeing her happy. _

_Elijah studied her for another moment then looked past her to the open window._

"_Yes it would be lovely, but who wants to be inside reading on a day like this," he said cheerfully, though he had fully intended to do so until this very moment, "Shall we go outside and enjoy the spring?" _

_Katerina furrowed her brow_

"_But what about my guard?" she asked, "They will not let me outside. Klaus said—"_

"_Don't worry about the guard, you are with me." Elijah said with a smile, offering her is hand_

_She hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand in his, returning the smile as he led her from the room. _

_They walked the grounds for over an hour before Katerina led Elijah down the main path through the trees. _

"_Would you like to play a game?" she asked suddenly, the spark he had seen the night of Niklaus' birthday party when they had first met, returning to her eyes_

"_What sort of game?" Elijah asked politely_

"_One like…this!" she cried, tagging him on the arm and running away_

"_What?" he asked with a confused laugh as he watched her take off down the path_

"_Well, you have to chase me!" she cried happily_

_Elijah smiled and started to run quickly after her._

_This surprised her and she jumped, squealing and moving faster as she ran up the hill. _

_She looked over her shoulder and a laughed as she saw Elijah slow down to a walk behind her. _

"_You're meant to catch me," she said slowing her own run to a slower pace_

"_Well, if I catch you, then the game will be over," Elijah pointed out _

_And it would be. It's not fun to play a game like that with a vampire. He was too fast for any mortal. He'd tire the poor girl out. _

"_Thank you for entertaining me," Katerina said, coming along side a bench in the meadow_

"_Well, you looked lonely inside so I took pity on you." Elijah retorted and they shared a smile before Katerina looked away sadly_

"_Klaus promised to spend the day with me," she said as she took a seat on the stone bench, "but he never returned home from the night."_

_Elijah shook his head, looking out onto the vast meadow. It angered him that Niklaus would neglect something so fine and precious for his own selfish pleasure. But he always kept reminding himself that it was none of his business. He just had to keep his head down and stay focused on keeping Niklaus from breaking the curse._

"_Klaus does not live by any rules but his own," Elijah said, crossing his arms over his chest_

"_He's a very charming man… difficult for any woman to resist, I suppose"" Katerina said softly and Elijah could see the emotions in her face. She seemed to generally care for Niklaus, but she was confused about whether he loved her in return. She felt neglected and cast aside._

"_And yet?" he encouraged, wanting to hear the words from her own lips_

"_I know not why he courts me," she lamented, shaking her head, "He seems to not care about me at all." _

_There it was. _

"_Many a union has been built on much less," Elijah said, trying to sound encouraging, trying to make her feel worthwhile. _

_Surely she had to know how beautiful she was. That Niklaus would never think of taking up with another while he had her in his possession. That there was another awful truth—a truth that was being kept from her—about what they really were—about why Niklaus left at all hours of the night and did not return until morning—about why Niklaus truly courted her and kept her so close, never letting her out of his sight. _

_He wanted to tell her all of this—he wanted to give her comfort—he wanted to tell her that he was coming up with a plan, even as they spoke, that would guarantee her survival because he could not face watching another Petrova sacrifice.. _

_He knew he could never love Katerina the way he loved Liliya—she **wasn't** Liliya, but seeing her sparked something inside of him for her that would never die. And he owed it to her to help this girl be happy—happy in whatever life she chose. It was her life—a life that Liliya never got to live. _

"_Is it wrong to want more?" Katerina suddenly asked as if ashamed _

_Elijah unfolded his arms and took a seat beside her on the bench, turning to look her in the eyes. _

"_Do you have more with Trevor?" he asked gently, referring to the castle manservant who had discovered Katerina and brought her to Niklaus' birthday party. He had seemed to have a small crush on her from what Elijah could see. _

_Katerina shook her head, "Trevor believes that he loves me, but true love is not real unless it is returned. Do you agree?" _

_Elijah mind immediately flashed with images of the girl he once loved four hundred years earlier and who loved him in return—from their earliest meeting as children to the last moment she kissed him before Mikael drug her away to the sacrifice._

_He felt his eyes glisten as he twirled the ring on his right pinky finger._

"_I do not believe in love, Katerina…" he heard himself say in a low voice and in that moment, he knew it was true. After Liliya, it would never be the same. He could never believe that kind of love would ever find him again._

_Katerina studied Elijah for a moment, then said softly,"That is too sad for me to accept my Lord. Life is too cruel. If we cease to believe in love…why would we want to live?" _

_Elijah smirked. _

_It was a beautiful thing for her to say, but if she only knew how much he had wanted to die, even then, centuries after his mother had granted him eternal life and how many times he had tried to kill himself over the centuries when the weight and responsibility of living on had become too much._

_He was a tortured soul, it was true. It was only his loyalty to his family and to his brother that had kept him going—as well as a promise to his father and a need to make sure that Liliya's death was not in vain._

_Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind them. _

_He immediately stood as he saw his younger brother approach. _

"_What do I interrupt?" Niklaus asked good naturedly, glancing at Elijah and Katerina together_

"_He has returned," Elijah announced with a smile to hide his own emotions._

_He watched Katerina's eyes light up at the sound of Niklaus' voice as she too stood_

"_Long night?" Elijah asked as he eyed Niklaus' torn and bloodied shirt and vest _

_Katerina's face turned to concern._

"_What has happened?" she asked_

"_Went to the wrong village and picked a fight at the tavern," Niklaus said in a charming voice, giving Katerina a loving gaze. _

_She smiled as he reached out for her and led her down the hill back toward the castle.  
>Niklaus glanced back over his shoulder to Elijah. <em>

_It was a classic Niklaus glance—one that shared confidence with his brother about his real reason for being out late—he probably slaughtered the entire village where he 'picked a fight'—and it was also a glance that told him that he should keep his distance from Katerina. _

_Elijah knew that Niklaus thought he was trying to do his brother a favor by not allowing him to get attached to her—by courting her himself to keep her at the castle until the ritual could be performed instead of asking such a cruel thing of his brother. _

_At least, that is what Elijah kept telling himself as he watched Niklaus lead the doppelganger away._

_She stole a glance over her left shoulder and the look in her eyes pained him. _

_She looked as if she knew she would never see him again. _

Katherine took a breath and steadied her gaze on Elijah.

"I did what I had to to _survive. _I'm sorry if that—"

"You _stole _from me, Katerina" Elijah said, raising his eyes to meet hers and she stepped back a little at the use of her Christian name, "If you had only not taken matters into your own hands…" he said trailing off, shaking his head

"What? You would have saved me, right? I didn't know that _then_, Elijah, I didn't think I could trust you anymore after Kol told me the truth—

"_Wait_—Kol?" Elijah looked down to his still unconscious brother

Katherine cocked her head and narrowed her eyes.

"You didn't know?"

"No." Elijah said, looking up "I didn't."

How the hell could he have missed that? Kol and Katerina? Was he really that blind back then? Was he really so lost in himself or her or Niklaus' plan that he didn't see?

Katherine seemed surprised as well as she took a breath.

"I thought nothing got past you." Katherine said, before continuing, "Not long after I came to live at the castle, I started to have my doubts about Niklaus and why he wanted _me_ when he could have had so many others. One night, after dinner, Kol and I met for the first time. He, like his brothers, was a very charming man…_sadistic_, but charming. We started seeing each other behind Klaus' back and it wasn't long before he finally told me about your family and Klaus' curse and why Klaus needed me _so_ badly, why he kept me trapped like an animal—"

"Why didn't you come to me when you learned of this?" Elijah asked

"Come to you?" Katherine scoffed, "Oh, that's a conundrum! Tell me, Elijah, if I told you I suspected something—if I asked you to tell me the truth, would you have?"

Elijah wasn't sure. Back then, his pain was still so near and his loyalty to Niklaus was so tightly bound.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, "But, I did care about you, Katerina and I would have done anything to help you. When you left I blamed myself—"

"But, back then I felt betrayed by you and it _hurt,_ Elijah. It felt like every moment we shared, every bit of kindness you showed me, was a _lie_! That's why I stole what I did from you. I knew that one—it would _hurt you_ and two—I knew that when Klaus found out that I had gone, _you_ would be the one hunting me down and one day, it might make a handy bargaining chip."

Elijah exhaled a breath and they stared at one another.

His mind flashed to their confrontations throughout the years.

To the night of her escape when he chased her through the woods…

To when he nearly caught her outside Budapest in the 1600's…

The fire that he set to the woods that she outran on horseback in Prague in 1861…

To the night he saw her in the cave in Mystic Falls when he freed Stefan last year…

Catching her eye just before Niklaus daggered him that night in his apartment…

So finally, after all these years, they had bore their souls about what had really happened between them. He finally understood and he thought she finally did too, where they each had come from. Their past would always be complicated and full of mixed emotions but at least, he didn't feel so angry. At least she had finally discovered that he had wanted to save her—that he had planned on saving her. How he wasn't exactly sure, but that didn't matter now.

By the resigned look that now fell into Katherine's eyes, he knew that she was no longer angry at him, either—maybe she never was—just hurt.

"Well, I think lover boy will keep for a little while," Elijah said, glancing down to Kol, "Now that some of our baggage is out of the way—"

Katherine smirked, "Or at least off of the never ending carousel."

Elijah nodded, looking up, "Would you care to join me for a drink?"


	24. Chapter 24

Elijah took a step toward the large walnut door and knocked.

Within moments, the door opened and Elena stood before him dressed in blue cotton v-neck t-shirt and blue jeans, Liliya's necklace still safely around her neck.

She stared at him for a few moments, seemingly stunned by the sight of him.

"Elijah?" she whispered before letting out a loud sigh of relief and quickly moving toward him, a small smile crossing her face as she flew into his arms, burying her face in

his shoulder as he tentatively brought his hand to the lower part of her back, cradling her.

He closed his eyes as he felt her warmth radiate through him. He hadn't realized until that moment how much he had missed it.

After a few moments, Elena suddenly inhaled and pulled away, staring up at him as if she had suddenly realized something.

"Oh, my God… what are you _doing here_?" she asked in a hurried voice, fear creeping across her face as Elijah brought his hand up to rest on her cheek

"What's wrong?" he asked searching her eyes

"You can't be here!" she said frantically, bringing her hand to rest on the back of his and pull it from her face, "You have to go. If they knew you were here…" then her

eyes shifted over his shoulder and Elijah suddenly felt another presence come close, "Damon…Damon, no!"

Before Elijah could react and turn around, he felt a searing pain through his back.

"_No!_" Elena screamed as Elijah fell forward through the threshold and into her arms, her body buckling under his weight as she tried to bring him to the hardwood floor.

Elijah swallowed, feeling himself losing his breath quickly, his skin hardening

"No…" she whispered, her eyes filling with tears above him, "Please, Elijah…Please don't leave me."

She grabbed his face in her hands as he continued to struggle against his own impending death.

He fixed his eyes on her for a few moments, then everything went dark…

Elijah took a sharp breath and quickly snatched his arm out of Katerina's grasp, then grabbing hold of her with vampire speed, turned and threw her up against wall inside the back hallway of the night club.

"Civilized people ask permission before they invade your mind!" he cried angrily

Katherine smiled wickedly, pinned beneath him.

"So _touchy_…It was just a little show and tell to make sure I had your attention."

Elijah's nostrils flared as he gave her a hard look, "What do you mean?"

"I _mean,_" Katherine said, "That I took that little dream I showed you off of Elena last night."

"What?" Elijah asked, his voice rising

"Yeah, she's usually a sound sleeper that one, but this dream had her tossing and turning and I can see why. I think it's sweet that she cares about you, Elijah—"

It infuriated Elijah to no end that Katherine watched Elena sleep and invaded her dreams, but part of him was also intrigued by the idea that Elena had dreamed about

him. That she wanted him to show up at her house. That she didn't want him to die.

"You stay away from her!" He spat

"Relax. She's safe. I see you still have that famous temper of yours...good. You're going to need it. Elena may have a soft spot for you, but the Salvatore's want nothing more than you and your family back in those coffins."

Elijah was suddenly overwhelmed with an array of emotions, but he quickly decided that he had to keep a level head. After all, he was dealing with Katherine and she would pounce on any moment of weakness.

He quickly stepped back, releasing her.

"So the Salvatores know about the existence of the white oak? Have they found its location?" Elijah asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Elena. Katherine had somehow correctly identified her as one of his weaknesses and he wouldn't let her capitalize on it.

"Yep. Damon had a little help solving the puzzle," Katherine said, rubbing her throat as Elijah pulled his hand away and cocked an eyebrow, "Sage is back."

"Sage" Elijah whispered in surprise

The only girl Finn had ever loved was a young woman named Sage. Like Liliya and Elijah, Finn and Sage had grown up together and were soul mates. Against Elijah's advice, after their Mother made them vampires, Finn let his passions overwhelm him and he turned Sage. Sadly, not long after that, Finn betrayed Niklaus' whereabouts to their father and in retribution for this, Niklaus daggered him, leaving Sage alone for over nine hundred years. The last Elijah had heard of Sage, she was still trying to find Niklaus and by extension, Finn. Guess she had finally traced them to Mystic Falls, albeit a little late.

"Does Finn know?" Elijah asked, narrowing his eyes

"No, but he will. Klaus and the blonde bombshell are on their way to find him now. Klaus is hoping to use Sage to coax your suicidal brother into helping him."

"Help him with what, exactly?" Elijah retorted

"Well, with Sage's double dipping on both teams, looking for a way to save her _precious_ Finn, your little sis was able to learn from Damon Salvatore exactly which structure in the town was made with the white oak and destroy it. But, Klaus, being his ever paranoid self, still wants to unbind you all to prevent any further threat on his person."

"Ahh…saving men you can't ever have and self preservation," Elijah sighed, looking Katherine up and down, "Who does _that_ sound like?"

Katherine bit her lip in anger, her eyes flashing, "_Don't_ even go there, Elijah."

Elijah smirked. He had to get his jab in where he could.

"Fine. Continue."

"Klaus needs Finn's blood—well blood from all of his siblings, actually—" she furrowed her brow as she studied him, "I'm surprised that he hasn't already tracked you down."

"I've been blocking him." Elijah said matter of factually

"Hmm…you have a witch friend watching your back. Nice." Katherine nodded

Elijah smirked, "I've always got a witch or two up my sleeve."

Katherine snorted, "Well, so does Klaus. He currently has Bonnie Bennett and he also has her grimoir."

"He has Bonnie?"

"_Wow_," Katherine mused, pushing off of the wall and walking past him, "You _have_ missed a lot, haven't you? You haven't even snuck a peek at the ongoing teen soap that is Mystic Falls? Okay, long story short—here it is. Your Mother tries to kill you all, you leave town, Rebekah finds out there is still a white oak tree out there that could kill all of you, and since you have a spell binding all of you together, that could mean trouble for Klaus. Klaus freaks and kidnaps Bonnie and promises to find her rogue and newly turned vampire mom if she can find a way to unbind you and your siblings from him. Meanwhile, diabolical kid sis goes digging and finds out, courtesy of our friend Sage—who played Damon Salvatore like a two dollar fiddle—that the last surviving white oak tree was used to build the Wickery Bridge. Blondie burns its remnants of the bridge and you and your siblings, including, Finn are safe…or so Sage thought."

"What do you mean by that?" Elijah said, straightening

Katherine closed her eyes for a moment as if she was ashamed of herself, then folded her arms across her chest and reluctantly continued, "As it turns out, the bridge wasn't completely destroyed, part of it survived. Stefan and Damon are carving stakes as we speak and have formed a plan."

"I assume they will try to go after Niklaus first."

"Unfortunately, I think they will be stupid enough to try, yes. Stefan has some unresolved anger toward Klaus. My only fear is that if they can get to him before he can unbind himself, they might suffer, well...the _consequences."_

"You mean the bloodlines." Elijah said in a low voice

He had learned many years ago from a servant of nature, when he had contemplated finding ways to kill Niklaus, that this was a possibility. That if an original was in fact killed permanently, all those in their vampire bloodline—those who had been sired by them and those they had sub sequentially turned—would die as well.

Katherine nodded, "Unfortunately, we aren't sure what it all means or who exactly the originals are linked to."

Elijah exhaled, "Three vampires and a hybrid. Pick the wrong original and they all end up dead."

He closed his eyes and silently cursed himself. If one of his siblings are killed, Elena and her friends will figure out the truth. It will then become a 'who lives, who dies' game. Lovely.

"Not only that, if they get the _wrong_ information about the bloodlines, it won't matter who is left standing…we _all_ die, Elijah."

"But you're mostly worried about Stefan."

Katherine flared her nostrils

"So, that's what you need from me. You want my help to trace the bloodlines to save yourself and your precious Stefan."

"It will save Elena as well—it will save her heartache and misery—you know how much she cares for both Salvatore brothers. If anything happened to either of them _or_ her friends, Tyler and Caroline, it would break her, Elijah. And besides that, you saw her dream. She doesn't want _you_ to die, either. Gives you something to live for, am I right?"

Elijah rolled his shoulders, "Very well. I can trace the bloodlines, but there is one person whose bloodline we definitely need and even _I_ don't know who turned her."

"Who?" Katherine asked, her interest peaked

"Rose." Elijah said with a raised eyebrow. He knew that this would be an important link for Katerina and that she would know it. Katerina had died with Rose's blood in her system. Her fate was tied to Stefan and Damon. If, in fact, they were all traced back to Klaus and Stefan got stake happy, they really were screwed.

"Rose? But she's _dead_…" Katherine said suddenly trailing off, her eyes moving quickly to the steel door behind Elijah that lead to the back alley, "Kol."

"Kol?" Elijah asked, following her gaze

"I wonder if Klaus is already ahead of us?" Katherine whispered, bringing her gaze back to Elijah

"Ahead of us, how?"

"Kol lied to you, Elijah. He's not been in Chicago all this time. He only arrived here two days ago because Klaus needed his help tracking you down. For the prior two days, Klaus has had him keeping tabs on Elena's brother, Jeremy, in Denver—they've sort of become friends-and because Jeremy was compelled to leave Mystic Falls in the first place, he has _no idea _who Kol really is."

"What does Jeremy Gilbert have to do with _any _of this?"

"Well, I thought Klaus planted him in Denver so that he would have leverage with Elena in case he needed it regarding the whereabouts of the tree, but I'm starting to wonder if Klaus is aware of Jeremy's abilities."

"Abilities? What abilities?"

"Jeremy's died one too many times, Elijah. That _does stuff._ Since his last 'return from the dead' moment, he's been able to see and talk to people who have passed over to the other side—humans _and _vampires."

Elijah shook his head, "I never knew that."

Katherine smiled, "It has its uses. That's how we found Mikael."

Elijah let out a deep sigh, "Thanks for sharing."

Katherine continued, "So I'm thinking that Klaus is trying to cover all of his bases—"

"And _I'm thinking_ that you might be over-estimating his thought process."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then how do you think that we should proceed?" Katherine asked

Elijah straightened his lapels, "I'll take care of it."

"What about Kol? Are you going back to Mystic Falls?—"

"I _said_, I will take care of it, Katerina, you need not concern yourself any longer."

Katherine's face fell and her nostril flared in anger, "Don't cut me out, Elijah, please! This doesn't just affect your family, it affect_ all_ our fates—"

"Which is why you can't be involved. You can't be trusted—"

"What? After _I_ came to _you_? After I took a chance, trusted _you_ and _gave_ you this information—that is what you have to say to me? That doesn't seem very honorable, Elijah."

"_Honorable?_ I cared for you once Katerina, do you remember that? I _trusted _you once and you repaid me by running away and not only running away, but taking something from me in the process—something precious. You can't just show up here after five hundred years and expect it all to be forgiven just because you warned me of impending doom. It doesn't work that way. How do I know that if things get complicated you aren't going to run again?"

Katherine opened her mouth to speak, but Elijah raised a hand to silence her as he stepped forward and looked her directly in the eye.

"You are a runner, Katerina, and you will always _be _a runner—a self- preservationist _runner._"

Katherine took a staggered breath then stepped back.

"Fine," she relented in a low voice, shifting her gaze nervously from Elijah

In one quick movement, she turned and tried to escape with vampire speed out and into the crowd, but Elijah caught her arm.

Katherine winced as she looked defiantly up at Elijah, "What now? Are you going to hand me over to Klaus?"

Elijah released her arm immediately and stepped back as if burned, pursing his lips as he stared at her.

"You should know," he said in a low voice, his eyes gazing over her as she rubbed her arm where he had taken hold of her, "That that was never my intention from the beginning."

"But for a hundred years, you hunted me for him. Why?"

"I told you," Elijah said tilting his head, "You _know_ why."

Katherine swallowed, "You want what I took. That is all?"

Elijah's eyes softened and he stepped forward, "There was a time, Katerina, when that _wasn't_ all. I wanted _you. _But you turned your back on me. You left—"

"I told you, Elijah, I left to _survive"_ Katherine retorted

"I know," Elijah said, "But, running away was surviving. Taking leverage on me, however, was just cruel and unnecessary."

"I don't regret it." Katherine said boldly

Elijah smirked sadly, "I know you don't."

"I no longer have the moonstone, you know that right?" Katherine said

"I know. That is not what I want."

There was a moment's pause as Katherine searched Elijah's face, then asked, "You really won't turn me in to Klaus?"

Elijah shook his head.

"No. Like I said, that was never my intention then and after all these centuries, it _still _isn't."

Katherine straightened, "Give me your word."

"Katerina, I told you—"

"I still need your word, Elijah." Katherine said with a weak voice

Elijah sighed, looking her directly in the eyes, "You have my word."

Katherine closed her eyes in relief.

She then took a few tentative steps toward Elijah and slid her hand across his red velvet dress shirt to the inside of his suit jacket.

Elijah closed his eyes at her willing touch. It was something that after five hundred years, still stirred unresolved feelings.

Finally, she retrieved what she wanted from the inside pocket—a fountain pen.

She then reached for his right hand, taking it into her delicate embrace, un-capping the pen and scrawling six digit number, then a five digit number below it on the palm as he studied her curiously.

When she was finished, she released his hand and capped the pen, holding it out to him.

"What you're looking for is in that safety deposit box at the Mystic Falls Bank and Trust," she said as Elijah took the pen from her and studied his hand, "I hid it there in the 1860s when I first moved to town and lived with the Salvatores. The security measures are updated, but it is still one of the oldest accounts there, so they may look at you a little strange. It's a word lock. The five numbers spell out the password."

Elijah's face went solemn as he pulled back his hand.

"Thank you," he said softly

"Just remember, I'll be watching." Katherine smirked and in a moment, was gone.

Elijah sighed and placed the pen back into his jacket pocket before turning toward the steel door.

_**Now**_, he thought_, __**to deal with Kol.**_

Elijah took a moment to compose himself, then opened the door and stepped out into the alley.

But as he did so, he did not see his brother lying unconscious where he had fallen on the ground earlier.

Elijah's senses quickly reacted as he immediately scanned the alley for any sign of his younger brother.

"Kol?" he called as he took a few steps forward into the darkness

Suddenly, Elijah cried in pain as he felt his left knee snap forward from behind, bringing him tumbling down onto the bricks, his hands catching his fall.

He then felt an elbow blunt force him hard on his upper spine between his shoulder blades, making him cry louder and forcing his arms to collapse from under him, sending him flat onto the ground with a thud.

His vision went blurry as his head hit the stone, but he distinctly heard Kol's voice looming over him as a needle punctured the back of his neck.

"Sorry, that this is how it had to go down, Elijah. But, we appreciate your assistance."

Then the needle pulled back and then a mild breeze blew over him as Kol took off into the night.


	25. Chapter 25

_England 1492_

_Elijah closed his eyes in contentment as he grabbed a book off of the shelf in the library and took a seat in a nearby chair, opening it. He tries hard to read the contents, but his mind is still wrapped around Katerina and the conversation they had earlier that evening in his quarters when he had summoned her there and presented her the personal possession Niklaus had taken from her out of anger three nights before—her family bible. _

_As she flipped through the pages, tears came to her eyes as she thanked him sincerely for its return. Her Mother, she said, had secretly given it to her as a parting gift to remember them by when she had to leave home. She then told Elijah about her exile. Her vulnerability and the trust that she had in him to tell him so much about her life, caused him to do the same. And before he knew it, there, sitting on his bed before dinner, he was telling her about his own pain—being vampires, breaking the curse—those things he omitted of course, but about other private tribulations he was open, including his anger toward Niklaus, his pain at losing his family and the woman he loved. _

_She seemed to sympathize with his plight. He was thinking of the comforting smile she had given him and how gently she had embraced him, when Niklaus burst into the library._

"_What have you done?" he asked, his voice rising in an accusing tone, the anger on his face accentuated in the candlelight_

_This completely took Elijah back. He had not seen his brother this upset in a very long time—a record for Niklaus. _

"_I do not understand," he said in confusion, closing the book on his lap and setting it aside _

_Niklaus eyed Elijah suspiciously for a moment, before continuing._

"_Katerina is gone. She has fled."  
><em>

_This brought Elijah up out of his chair quickly. _

_Katerina was gone? _

_Part of him was sad beyond belief, while another part of him was joyful for her release from impending death. _

_But, mostly, he was in shock. _

"_No." Elijah said in disbelief, trying to move past Niklaus. He wanted to go to her chambers and see for himself, but __Niklaus stopped him by placing a forceful hand on his brother's chest. _

"_What did you tell her?" he asked in an angry whisper_

_Elijah furrowed his brow.  
><em>

_Niklaus had every right to be suspicious. After he saw her striking resemblance to Liliya the night of Niklaus' birthday party, Elijah **had** tried in vein to dissuade Niklaus from taking her life in the ritual, but he and Katerina had always exchanged polite conversation, maybe a confidence or two, he never would have been foolish enough to tell her anything like this. His first obligation was to always show loyalty to his brother. All plans to help Katerina were kept to himself. In order to keep her safe, he told her nothing of the ritual or his brother's intentions for her. _

"_I told her nothing." Elijah answered truthfully_

_Niklaus angrily grabbed Elijah by the collar and threw him up against one of the stone walls._

"_Do not lie to me!" he screamed, his face changing_

_Niklaus had no tolerance for disloyalty or people who disappointed him. Elijah quickly knew that he had limited options._

"_I will find her. You have my word." He said, staring intently into his brother's dark eyes _

_Niklaus studied him for a moment as he pulled back ready to challenge his brother's loyalty._

"_If you do not," he said finally, raising an eyebrow, "I give you **my** word that you will be dead." _

_Moments later, Elijah moved quickly down the hallway toward his quarters. All around him he heard the shuffle of feet as Niklaus dispatched his armed guards to search the grounds and surrounding areas for Katerina. _

"_Lord Elijah!" a voice suddenly cried behind him_

_Elijah stopped only for a moment to look over his shoulder, seeing his manservant Trevor coming immediately to his side. _

"_What is happening?" Trevor asked in worried tone as a group of guards rushed past them in the hall, heading in the opposite direction. _

_Elijah kept his voice low as he started walking again at a fast pace toward his destination, Trevor close behind, "Katerina has fled." _

"_What?" Trevor asked in an innocent tone, "When?" _

"_This evening," Elijah said, pushing open the door to his chambers, "sometime after dinner." _

_He took a deep breath, then turned on his heel in the center of the room and nodded at Trevor and waved his hand, silently signaling for him to close the door. _

_Trevor furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment before finally doing what Elijah asked, closing the large wooden door with a thud. _

"_Niklaus has charged me with finding Katerina," Elijah said as soon as the door closed, turning and walking toward a chair in the corner of the room, "But he doesn't trust me—not completely—therefore, he will have every armed guard at his disposal looking for her as well," _

_Trevor watched as Elijah reached for his belt and sword that hung on the arm of the chair and swung it around his waist. _

_"She most likely has a good two hour head start on us," Elijah continued, fastening the belt, "we can use that to our advantage to help her. We'll need to come up with a distraction to keep the guards occupied. If we can find her, I'll make sure that nothing happens to her." _

"_You would help save her?" Trevor asked stepping forward_

_Elijah turned back to Trevor, his eyes softening as he began removing his vest._

"_Yes, I would. I owe it to someone—someone I cared about long ago." _

_Trevor smirked as he moved forward and retrieved a fresh leather vest for Elijah from the top drawer of the bureau and helped guide it over his master's shoulders as Elijah reached through the inside pockets of the velvet vest he had discarded from his person. _

_Suddenly, his breath staggered and he quickly moved out of Trevor's grasp. _

"_Where is it?" he asked himself under his breath. "It's gone…" _

"_My Lord?" Trevor asked, confused as he watched Elijah toss the empty vest aside and scan the room quickly, even the floor._

"_The moonstone," Elijah said in a panic, "It's gone! That's impossible! I keep it with me always—" _

_Then suddenly his mind flew back to the events of the day and to him calling Katerina to the chambers—him handing her the bible— the embrace Katerina had given him, wrapping her arms around his chest..._

_It suddenly occurred to Elijah that if Katerina fled because she had discovered Niklaus' plot, it's likely she knew about the moonstone and its significance… she also must have known where she could find it._

_Elijah's nostrils flared. _

_**No,** he thought to himself as he turned quickly toward the top of the bureau, hoping that he had somehow set it down there earlier, **Katerina wouldn't do that. She wouldn't betray him like that. Use his affections and then…**_

_As his eyes continued to wander over the gold tray where he kept his valuables, his heart suddenly dropped. _

_Something else was missing._

"_No…" he said softly in disbelief, "No…" _

_His hands searched rapidly through the jewelry and coins in the tray, then to a small wooden box near the candelabra. _

"_NO!" he screamed, his face changing with his anger as he slammed the lid of the box down hard and threw everything off of the top of the bureau with one swoop of his arm, sending items flying in every direction and Trevor ducking to avoid being hit straight on. _

_Elijah brought his hand to his chest, pain crossing his face as he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself, but to no avail._

_The moonstone he could forgive…he could understand…but **this.** He had trusted her with **this—**trusted her with all his being when he had told her about it and now she had used it against him, taken it from him. _

_Why? To hurt him? To anger him? If so, it was working. _

_Elijah immediately straightened and fastened his vest quickly as he moved toward Trevor, grabbing the servant by the collar and helping him rise to his feet. _

"_Ready torches and wake Kol. We are going out to the woods to find her," he said in a seething voice, inches away from Trevor's face. _

"_W—what about stalling the guards? W—w-what about helping Katerina?" Trevor asked terrified_

"_That time has passed," Elijah said, pulling Trevor closer as the servant cringed at how close Elijah's fangs now were to his jaw line. _

_Elijah pulled back and closed his eyes, finally willing himself to change his face back to normal. _

_"Now do as I say and wake my brother," he said coldly, releasing Trevor with a toss toward the door._

_Trevor bowed shakily, trying to get his bearings and stay steady on his feet._

"_Yes, My Lord," he said in a trembling voice as he opened the door for Elijah and watched the original pass._

"_We are going doppelganger hunting." Elijah said angrily under his breath as he walked through the threshold._

Elijah groaned as he rolled over on his back and slowly lifted his throbbing head from where it had planted on the brick alley way behind the nightclub.

He blinked, trying to straighten his eyesight into one cohesive vision, before slowly attempting to sit up.

He reached back and rubbed the back of his neck. It was still painful where Kol had stuck him with the needle and Elijah let out a defeated breath.

So, Niklaus got what he wanted after all—his blood.

Well, this was just great.

All the effort he had put into deflecting Niklaus had gotten him nowhere and worst of all Niklaus was capitalizing on Kol's survival instincts, Finn's love for Sage and Rebekah's—well, who knows what he was holding over Rebekah—to help him save himself.

Just when Elijah thought things had changed with his brother—they hadn't.

Big shock there.

But, was Niklaus _really_ saving himself?

If Katherine was right and Elena and her friends traced the bloodlines wrong, no one would be safe, not even Niklaus.

And so Elijah was right back where he started, where he _always_ started, playing the big brother and saving his siblings.

It was a tiresome job-cleaning up the messes, giving encouragement, trying to see the good in them-and all the while trying to keep the outside world from killing them while they tried to kill _eachother_.

As Elijah rose to stand, leaning on the brick wall of the building for support, trying to ignore the pain that now coursed through his body, he suddenly knew what he had to do.

He would have to pay a visit to an old friend for some answers and trace the bloodlines before Elena and the Salvatores did.

But first, he decided, looking down to the numbers Katherine had scrawled on the palm of his hand, he would take a quick trip back to Mystic Falls and after five hundred years, finally claim what was his.


	26. Chapter 26

Elijah took a deep breath before walking straight up the front porch of the Gilbert house and knocking on the door.

No answer.

After a few moments, he knocked again, but, again, there was no answer.

Elijah furrowed his brow and took a few steps back, still waiting for someone to open the door, then quickly turned and bounded down the steps, walking across the yard as he circled the side of the house.

He looked up to Elena's window, but it was closed and there was no sign of movement.

He continued walking around to the back porch, but there was no sign of anyone there either.

As he moved to the French-style back doors, he checked to make sure they were locked then peered through the glass.

He observed quickly that the temperature in the house was quite cold. There was no human heat signature anywhere to be found—no dishes, no moved chairs, and no lights on. By the looks of things, no one had been living in the house for at least a day or two.

Elijah sighed with a mixture of anxiety and fear and pulled back from the window...

_**Where was she? **_he thought to himself as he walked through the streets of Mystic Falls on his way to the Salvatore boarding house. The sun was warm on his skin, but as the tourists and town residence passed by him the scent of their blood reminded him that he hadn't had a drink in at least 24 hours. He would have to remedy that soon, especially since his body was still healing from Kol's little escapade in Chicago.

Elijah was concentrating on keeping himself in check as he listened to the numerous heartbeats around him and didn't see Stefan Salvatore come around the corner near the liquor store until he nearly collided with him.

Stefan looked up at the original with a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Elijah?" he asked narrowing his eyes then looked around quickly

Elijah raised a hand immediately, ready to calm Stefan's fears, "It's alright. I'm alone."

Stefan shifted his stance and tucked the brown paper bag in his possession tighter under his arm.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, "I thought you left town."

"I did and now I'm back. Where is Elena?" Elijah blurted

Stefan straightened, "Why?"

"I heard you might need my help, so I'm here. But, when I went to Elena's house earlier and she isn't there—I—I'm—"

"You're worried?" Stefan scoffed

Elijah narrowed his eyes at the youngest Salvatore brother, "Yes. I'm worried. What is going on? Where is she?"

"Since when do _you care_ about what happens to Elena?"

Elijah stepped back and swallowed the hurt he suddenly felt at this accusation

Stefan quickly realized his words and closed his eyes before shaking his head, "I'm sorry. I know that you and Elena are friends or whatever…that you want to help her or she _thinks_, you want to help her in a weird, twisted, way..." he opened his eyes, and swore at himself, "Look, forgive me. I'm just a little on edge right now. I'm under a lot of pressure from your brother—"

"Niklaus?"

"Yeah."

"What's happened? And is it serious enough to involve Jack Daniels?" Elijah asked with a raised eyebrow, turning his gaze toward the bag under Stefan's arm.

"This?" he asked, raising the bag, "This is for an ex-vampire hunter with a multiple personality disorder. See, your psychotic brother wants us to turn all the white oak stakes in our possession over to him or its end game for all of us. But recently one of the stakes went missing. Apparently with the Gilbert rings, you can only die so many times before you go mad and it appears that Alaric's new alter-ego has hidden the last stake we need to hand over to Klaus. So I'm going to need to either get him _very_ drunk and hope the 'other him' appears so I can get it out of him,_ or_ I'll just have to beat it out of him."

"Sounds like a party," Elijah said facetiously, "but that doesn't answer my question about Elena."

"Elena is on a little road trip with Damon to Denver to find Jeremy. They think Klaus might know his location and that he's not safe there anymore. They also need his help contacting some vampires that might know about original bloodlines. I don't know if you've heard, but apparently when one of you dies, all the little friends you've picked up over the centuries die along with you. So that could me curtains for us..."

"It's a theory," Elijah said raising an eyebrow

"Well, consider that theory _fact_. We know for sure. Finn is dead."

Elijah closed his eyes.

"When?" he asked in low voice

Stefan looked away, somewhat ashamed when he realized how he had just broken the news to the man about his brother, then answered, "Yesterday. And he took Sage with him."

"Maybe now, he'll actually be at peace." Elijah said trying to keep the tremble out of his voice

"I—wow, I never thought I would say this to you," Stefan said remorsefully, "But, _I'm sorry_."

"Finn was always the logical choice if you wanted to kill us and honestly, I don't blame you, Stefan. I understand your anger toward Klaus. In many ways, he deserves to die. And Finn, he _wanted_ to die— since the beginning." Elijah looked down and shook his head, "But, it doesn't mean that I'm still not sorry to see him go."

"He was your _brother_, Elijah. I understand…I would feel the same way" Stefan said

There was a moment's pause. Then Elijah smirked and looked up to Stefan.

"Why do relationships with siblings have to be so complicated?" he asked

"When I figure it out, you are in my five to call." Stefan replied with a smirk of his own

"When will Elena be back?" Elijah asked

"I'm not sure," Stefan said

Elijah took a deep breath, "Well, I have some unfinished business to attend to first, but I meant what I said about coming back to help. It's been a thousand years, but if I can help you trace the bloodlines, I will."

"Wait—you helping us…you know this means, right?" Stefan asked, stepping forward, trying to read Elijah's intentions, "For you and your family?"

"That one or all of us, may die? I know." Elijah said in a quiet voice, "Every instinct in my body is still telling me to protect my siblings, like I've always protected them, but there is also _something else_ telling me that after a thousand years, maybe it's all just supposed to end. In any case and for any outcome, you still need my help."

Stefan's bewildered expression made Elijah smile a little as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets

"You're always wondering what side I'm on, aren't you Mr. Salvatore?" he said leaning in to Stefan as he passed by him, "But, you see, that is the secret to my survival. I don't pick a side…at least, not until the very last minute."

Stefan turned as he watched Elijah round the corner move down the sidewalk, raising a farewell hand.

"I'll pay you a visit later and you can catch me up on what I've missed," he called, "Happy Drinking!"

When Elijah pulled open the large caged bronze doors to the Mystic Falls Bank and Trust, he wasn't expecting such a grand place.

It was a small town bank that the cornerstone outside said had been built in 1840 and surely there was no grandeur needed, but to his amusement, they seemed to want to make it look like John D. Rockefeller himself kept his money there.

Elijah made his way into the grand foyer, lined with gold plated wall paper and marble flooring and approached the large circular walnut teller desk.

"Good Morning," the young blonde in a blue sweater behind the window smiled, "How may I help you, today?"

Elijah took in his surroundings for another moment then answered politely.

"I would like to access a safety deposit box, Please."

"Of course," the woman replied cheerfully as she turned a plucked a piece of paper from a side desk and slid it across the counter to Elijah, "I'll just need the account number, please."

Elijah smiled as he took a pen and scrawled the number Katherine had given him on the paper in front of him and slid it back across to the woman.

As she eyed it, her smile faded.

"I just wanted to make sure I have this correct, Sir...What is the last name on the account?"

"Pierce." Elijah replied automatically

"Yes, of course," The woman smiled tentatively as she took the paper in hand and stood up from her chair, "Give me just one moment."

Elijah stepped back as he followed her movements behind the counter.

Within moments, she was standing in the presence of a tall man in his mid-to late fifties in a blue pin striped suit with horn rimmed glasses and gray streaked hair.

She pointed in Elijah's direction, then handed him the paper with the account number.

All the color in the man's face drained immediately, then after a moment, he swallowed and nodded to the teller as he left her where she was standing and approached Elijah.

He opened a side door to exit the inside of the circular desk and extended a hand out to Elijah as he moved forward.

"Mr. Pierce," he said in a kind voice as Elijah took his hand, "Howard Fell. I'm the bank manager, it's a pleasure."

"Pleasure's mine." Elijah said, releasing Mr. Fell's hand

"I understand that you wish to access this account?" he asked, pulling the piece of paper into view

"Yes, Sir, it's a family box," Elijah said, then studied the man's intrigued expression, "Is that a problem?"

"Oh—Oh, no, it just that—well, it's certainly one of our _oldest_ accounts on record. You must understand our surprise and curiosity since no one has accessed the box, well, in over _two hundred years_. It's a legend around here, you might say."

Elijah smirked as he watched all the tellers now staring in his direction, "I see."

Elijah turned back and saw Mr. Fell studying him.

"Well, with that being said," the manager smiled, "I'll just need to see some identification and it would be my pleasure to personally escort you to your box."

When the original's eyes met his, Mr. Fell straightened as if startled, but Elijah's brown eyes captured the bank manager's green as he absent mindedly pulled his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open for Mr. Fell's observation.

With his mind, he compelled the bank manager.

_You will look at my identification and nod approvingly._

Mr. Fell glanced down at Elijah's wallet, then nodded with a smile, "Thank you."

_And now you will show me to the vault _

Mr. Fell stepped back again and turned to the side, holding a hand out for Elijah to follow him.

They walked down an ornately decorated marble hallway behind the circular desk, lined with dozens of painted portraits—names and dates etched on the bottom. Elijah figured they were all past bank presidents.

At the end of the hall Mr. Fell stopped and pulled a key card out of his pocket and slid it across the scanner of a large silver door.

After a moment, the light on the scanner turned from red to green and the door slid open without a sound.

They headed down a three flight stairwell into the bowels of the bank.

It was evident that this part of the facility had been there since the beginning as the air was stale and smelled incredibly old.

At the bottom of the stairwell, Mr. Fell removed his glasses and leaned in to a small window next to a large vault door. It looked like a door to a Civil War era submarine with its rusted edges and turn valve lever in the center.

"Howard…Fell…" Mr. Fell stated clearly as a green light came out of the glass box and scanned over his face.

After a moment, Mr. Fell stepped back and the door beeped open.

"Welcome, Mr. Fell." An automated female voice greeted

Mr. Fell beckoned Elijah to step in first as he replaced his glasses on his face then stepped through behind him.

The room before them was quite large with gold faced boxes built into the wall all the way up to the eleven foot vaulted ceiling in every corner of the room.

Mr. Fell pulled the piece of paper forward again to examine it and nodded to himself, then set off in what he seemed to deem the appropriate direction.

Elijah waited in the center of the room near a large oak table as Mr. Fell disappeared down a row of boxes and then soon returned, beckoning Elijah to follow him.

Elijah did so and at the very end of the row, Mr. Fell checked his paper once again before pointing out a small box on the bottom to Elijah.

"There it is."

Elijah studied it for a moment.

It looked like the face could have once been opened with a key, like all safety deposit boxes, but now all the older style faces had a small key pad built in on the right side of the door that required an access code.

Elijah looked down to his hand, then punched in five digit code

54592

There was a hiss and the door immediately popped open.

Elijah heard Mr. Fell's heartbeat quicken

_**Poor man,**_ Elijah thought with a raised eyebrow as he opened the door all the way, _**this is probably the most excitement he's had in years.**_

Elijah reached inside and pulled out a small, dusty tin container.

Ignoring Mr. Fell, he immediately walked the box over to the table in the center of the room and set it down.

He eyed it for a moment then dusted it off and slid open the top.

_**New World, 1044 A.D.**_

_Elijah sat on the flat rock in the enclave under the waterfall, listening as the water poured over him into the river below. The sound was peaceful and reassuring as he worked with his knife, carving a small wolf figure out of pine wood for Henrik. He had finished his work for the day, and when he completed the carving he had promised his youngest brother, Elijah thought about taking a swim._

_Suddenly, two long slender hands came around Elijah's hands and covered his eyes. _

"_Guess, who?" a sweet voice asked in his ear_

_Elijah smiled as he set aside his carving and brought his hands up to rest on the back of the soft hands. _

"_Hmmm…Finn?" he guessed with a laugh_

"_Finn?" Liliya chuckled as she rested her chin on Elijah's shoulder and removed her hands from his eyes, bringing them down to embrace him from behind, "Finn has soft voice and feminine hands?"_

"_Have you **met**, Finn?" Elijah teased and Liliya laughed harder as he took her hands in his and pulled her around to sit on the rock beside him._

_As she did, he turned and gazed at her lovingly.  
>"Hello, beautiful girl." He said as he raised his hand to gently stroke her cheek<em>

_She closed her eyes at his touch then took his hand in hers as she opened them again._

"_Where have you been all day?" she asked, "I've been looking for you." _

"_I've been ferrying the horses," Elijah said, "Father insists on doing it, even at his age, and at the rate he goes, he's going to kill himself if I don't help him. Why?"_

"_It's just that I have a gift for you," Liliya smiled, _

_Elijah narrowed his eyes, "What sort of gift?" _

_Liliya smiled again as she opened Elijah's hand in her lap and placed a small silver ring inside it. _

_Elijah took a deep breath as he studied the ring in awe._

"_Niklaus helped me make it." Liliya said softly_

"_Oh, I see… and what did the young silversmith want in return?" Elijah asked with a raised eyebrow_

_Liliya blushed a little and Elijah shook his head._

"_Niklaus…he never gives up," he said, closing his fist around the ring_

"_Don't be angry, Elijah. He just wants to get your back up. I've already told Niklaus how I feel," Liliya said taking Elijah's face into her hands, "he knows that it will **always **be you—that **you** are my choice." _

_Elijah smirked as he looked down to his hand and opened it to reveal the ring. _

_Liliya released his face and took the ring in her long thin fingers before looking down to the carved wooden necklace Elijah gave her on her tenth birthday resting around her neck. _

"_You gave me a gift once—something you said that would bind me to you."_

_She took Elijah's hand in hers and slid the silver ring onto his pinky finger._

"_Now you belong to me." She smiled, looking up into his eyes as he moved closer and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. _

"_Forever." He said breathless when he pulled away, their foreheads still touching. _

"_Forever." She smiled as he kissed her again and lowered her down onto the flat rock. _

Elijah smiled as he now removed the small silver ring from the bottom of the container and slid it onto the pinky finger of his right hand.

Suddenly, the door to the vault swung open with a loud thud and an unconscious bank security guard flew through the doorway, sliding across the floor and landing at Elijah's feet.

"What the hell?" Mr. Fell cried as he ran forward and leaned down to check on the security guard.

Elijah moved to get a look for himself, but his eyes immediately moved to the door again as he sensed a presence and watched Katherine Pierce step through the door way.

"Those would be my words, _exactly_…" Katherine said angrily, her gaze turning from the bank manager to Elijah, "How did you get in here? How did you about the safety deposit box?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed, "You told me…in Chicago."

Katherine's face mixed with both fear and anger, "_What?_"

"You don't remember?" Elijah asked stepping forward

"Don't come any closer…" Katherine whispered in a seething tone, backing through the doorway, "For all I know, this one of Klaus' traps."

Elijah stopped and waited for her to make the next move.

"How did you know I was in Chicago?" she asked, swallowing nervously

"You found me…and Kol. We talked yesterday—"

"No—No we _didn't_," Katherine said, then her eyes sharpened, "That's impossible. Somehow, I passed out and this morning I woke up in the Lincoln Park Zoo."

Elijah's mind quickly raced as he tried to figure out what could have happened.

If _this_ was Katherine, who did he have last night's conversation with?

"Listen to me, Katerina…" Elijah said, trying to pull himself in to focus, "Did you—did you talk to anyone? Bump into anyone recently?_ Touch anyone?"_

Katherine thought for a moment then straightened, "Yes. A woman came up to me on the street two nights ago and started talking to me—a—a tall, blond woman—she looked middle aged, maybe, and spoke with an accent. Something about how she was dying….I don't know…_Why_?"

Elijah let out a breath and staggered back, leaning on the table for support.

He suddenly knew what was going on.

It was a clever trick—one that he was familiar with because it was one of Klaus' favorite spells-taking over someone else's body. He had recently done it with Alaric Saltzman.

But Klaus wasn't the first person in his family to use this trick.

He had learned it from their mother.


	27. Chapter 27

_**((LOL! Enjoy…that is all I have to say. I had a little too much fun with this short chapter and if it's over the top, I'm sorry. I just had to get it out of my system))**_

It was a long drive, almost three hours from Mystic Falls, but that was good because it gave Elijah time to catch Katherine—the real Katherine—up on what was going on.

When he finished the story, he pulled the rental car up at a roadside hamburger stand and turned to his front seat passenger, who just let out a long sigh.

"Well," she said, referring to everything he had just told her, "This sucks."

Elijah smirked and nodded

"Yes. It does."

There was a moment's pause before Katherine turned to him with soft eyes.

"You really need my help? You won't turn me over to Klaus?" she asked with a trembling voice

"I told you that was never my intention." Elijah confirmed in a low voice

Before she knew what she was doing, Katherine reached out and put a hand on his arm.

"Thank You," she said softly

The action stunned him to the point where all he could do was nod solemnly as he unfastened his seat belt and opened the car door.

"Where are you going?" Katherine asked curiously, pulling her hand back

"I'm going to get myself something to eat. They have excellent bacon cheeseburgers here. Would you like to join me? It's my treat."

Katerina looked out the windshield at the stand, for moment before rolling her eyes.

"_Why not_," she scoffed as she unfastened her own seat belt.

As they sat down at the nearby picnic table with their food Katherine smiled with amusement as she watched Elijah arrange the contents of his basket, separating his fries from his burger, placing his drink at a perpendicular angle, then unfolding two napkins and placing them gently in his lap before moving to open his plastic silverware.

"Ok…_Ok_…Hold it right there!" Katherine laughed, putting down her soda and throwing her hands up in the air.

"What?" Elijah asked, freezing

Katherine studied him for a moment then shook her head, "_Seriously?_ You are going to eat your cheeseburger with a knife and fork?"

"Yes." Elijah said as he continued to open the plastic

"Oh, _my god_…" Katherine muttered as she reached forward and plucked the silverware packet out of Elijah's hand and threw back over her head

"Hey!" Elijah cried in protest as he watched his silverware disappear into the field next to the stand.

"No one eats their cheeseburger with a knife and fork, Elijah," Katherine said as she reached for a French fry.

"Why not?" Elijah inquired

"They just _don't,_" Katherine confirmed before popping the fry into her mouth

"Well it's worked for me for years," Elijah said taking a drink of his soda

"And no one has stopped you before?" Katherine asked, genuinely shocked

"No."

"_Wow_…" Katherine mused as she reached for the salt and pepper shakers on the table

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked curiously as he watched her take the salt and pepper shakers in hand and pour a large mixed pile of both into a corner of her basket.

"Salt and pepper dip." Katherine said automatically, then froze, lowering the shakers back onto the table, "Oh…_no_…" she smiled, "Please don't tell me that you have _never_ had salt and pepper dip."

"I have not." Elijah said

"Well," Katherine said leaning forward and raising the salt and pepper shakers in her hands and pouring them into a corner of Elijah's own basket, "Allow me to educate you, my friend…"

"Salt and pepper dip is an education?" Elijah asked as he watched her in trepidation

"It's practically fast food gospel." Katherine chuckled as she pulled the shakers back, returning them to their spot on the table as she watched Elijah study the salt and pepper pile closely.

"Try it." Katherine encouraged as she took a French fry and coated it in her dip then took a bite, "And feel free to get _crazy_ and use your hands."

Elijah studied her for a moment with a raised eyebrow.

Katherine rolled her eyes as she took another bite. Clearly she was going to have to use a more persuasive incentive.

"Fine. Try it and I'll get you new silverware…" she teased

Elijah looked back to his basket, then after a few moments of hesitation picked up a fry and dipped it in the salt and pepper concoction before taking a bite.

As he chewed, Katherine studied his expression in amusement.

"It's good," he said finally as he swallowed and reached for his napkins

"Told you," she smiled as she took another drink from her soda

"Now…" Elijah smirked as he placed his napkins back on his lap, "how about that silverware?"

Katherine lowered her drink and dropped her face into her hands in defeat.

#####

"So tell me where we're going." Katherine said when they got back into the car

"Suffolk." Elijah replied as he buckled his seat belt and put the keys in the ignition

"Suffolk?" Katherine asked, her brow furrowing curiously, "What could possibly be in Suffolk?"

"An old friend of mine," Elijah said as the engine came to life and he looked back over his shoulder before throwing the car into gear and pulling out onto the highway, "granted, he's a little _eccentric_, but he'll be able to help us."

"Help us...how?" Katherine asked leaning back in her seat

"Jeremy Gilbert isn't the only human who can contact dead vampires," Elijah said as they started down the road, "besides, he's also a warlock, so he'll be able to sense my Mother's presence and hopefully be able to tell us exactly what she's up to."

Another forty minutes brought them to Suffolk, Virginia—population: 84,585

Katherine watched Elijah skillfully navigate the urban streets lined with old-style colonial homes and factory buildings.

"Here we are," he said finally, turning to Katherine as he pulled up and parked along-side the curb in front of a two story ivy-covered brick colonial home.

It looked stately with a well manicured garden and lawn that had a sign right in the middle that read:

MISHA DEVARAU—MYSTIC OF DREAMS AND ALTERNATE REALITY

"GET THE REALITY YOU WANT...TODAY!"

-PALM READING

-PSYCHOTHERAPY

-HYPNOTISM

"You've got to be joking, right?" Katherine said as they got out of the car, eying the sign then turning back to Elijah, "This guy is your big gun? A town mystic? I thought you said he was a powerful warlock?"

"Oh, ye of little faith…" Elijah smiled as he closed his door and rounded the front of the car hitting the auto lock on his keychain, then came to Katherine's side as they headed up the walkway, "It's just how he makes a living—a show for the locals. He's the dramatic sort and I think he rather enjoys it. But, if people knew his _real_ powers, believe me…they'd be terrified."

Katherine stopped in thought for a moment as she watched Elijah continue up the walk way to the front door and ring the doorbell.

After a moment, she appeared next to him on the front porch.

"Well," she said, trying to keep things light as she folded her arms across her chest and looked at Elijah out of the corner of her eye, "if this _does_ somehow turn out to be a flop, can we at least stop by and see the Planter's Peanut Factory on the way out of town?"

Elijah smirked, still focusing on the door.

Moments later, it opened and Elijah smiled at the sight of his old friend.

Katherine's mouth just dropped open.

"Elijah Mikaelson. It's about _damn time_!" the tall, African American man in an emerald green sequined dress, green high heels and flawless make-up said dramatically, his hands on his hips.

Katherine made a slight whimpering sound at the sight of the drag queen before her then turned to Elijah in shock.

"I apologize if we kept you waiting, Misha." Elijah said in a cool and collected voice

"Well, don't just stand there, boy! Your Mother's energy has been scaring the sweet baby Jesus out of me for two days!" Misha cried in his southern accent, throwing his feather boa over his shoulder and waving for them to follow him as he turned and walked down the hall, "Come in, come in! Damn vampires…always need an invite…Who's bright idea was _that_?"

"After you," Elijah chuckled to Katherine, who still stared at him dumbfounded as he stepped back and politely gestured for her to enter first.


	28. Chapter 28

As they moved down the main hall after Misha, Elijah followed Katherine's gaze as she took in the furniture and decorations adorning the house, that were just as eclectic as it's owner.

Suddenly, she stopped in front of a wall near the main staircase where a large picture collage in the shape of a massive tree rose in front of them and took in the centuries of photographs before her.

She turned back to Elijah when she noticed a common thread in all the pictures.

"Exactly how old is Misha?" she asked with narrowing eyes

Elijah took a breath and looked up to the very top of the tree to a drawing of a dark skinned native woman, her hair braided and a kind smile gracing her features in the center while small portraits of children surrounded her.

One of them was Misha.

"Elijah?" Katherine asked

Elijah was about to answer when the front door opened and a young, blonde woman in her early twenties marched through the threshold, holding a wailing newborn swaddled in blankets cradled in her arms.

"Misha!" she cried as she looked around, "Misha are you home?"

Elijah and Katherine had lost sight of Misha when they had followed him into the house, but now he appeared in the hallway behind them.

"Thank god!" the woman said in a loud voice over her baby's cries, "I need you to give me a reading. I need to know what's ahead. I'm sort of freaking out here—"

"Yes, Yes," Misha said calmly walking forward around Elijah and Katherine to stand in front of the woman, looking down to the red face of her infant, "Of course, Lisa, but I can't work my Mojo with that racket. How long has that baby been crying?"

"She's been screaming all night and all morning. I can't get her to stop. I'm not sure what is wrong," she said in a frustrating voice as she tried cradling the infant closer to her body to calm it, but to no avail.

Misha turned to Elijah and raised an eyebrow

"Oh, _no_…" Elijah said, shaking his head and raising his hands as he took a step back

"Elijah…" Misha encouraged, taking the baby from Lisa

"Misha_, no_…it's been a _very _long time since I've held a baby—" Elijah said in protest as Misha walked closer to Elijah as Katherine and Lisa watched in confusion.

"It's just like riding a bike. Come now, you remember. Work your magic, boy." Misha smiled as Elijah lowered his arms and finally gave in with a slight scowl.

"Right then," Misha said with a nod as he handed the small infant over to Elijah, "here we go."

Elijah took a sharp breath as he looked down to the still screaming and squirming infant in his arms, then up to the other three who were watching him anxiously.

He tried to ignore them as he looked down at the infant. From his experience, she looked to be about three weeks old.

As she continued to scream, he positioned her out in front of him, elongating her body along his right forearm as he rocked her back and forth, lowering his face to next to hers as he made clicking sounds with his tongue near her left ear.

After a few moments, the baby's crying volume lowered as Elijah continued to swing her from side to side as he straightened and looked directly down at her.

"Sha…sha…sha…Det er bedre…" he smiled at the infant as she stopped crying and focused on him with wet, but wide and curious eyes.

He stroked her chin with his free hand and she cooed.

"The baby whisperer," Misha announced as Elijah brought the infant up to rest on his shoulder, patting her back.

"No," Elijah replied, "she just has colic," then suddenly, a small but loud noise came from the baby, "and some gas."

"Thank you, _so much_." Lisa said in relief, closing her eyes

"Well she seems happy. We'll just leave her with Elijah and we'll see about your future, Honey, alright?" Misha asked as he put an arm around Lisa and guided her back to small room he had emerged from earlier, winking at Elijah and Katherine as he passed them.

Elijah nodded and continued to rock the baby as Katherine turned and studied him.

"Guess we'll have to wait our turn," Elijah smirked

"And while we are waiting, you can tell me where exactly this hidden talent come from" Katherine said with a raised eyebrow

"It's not a talent, exactly," Elijah said as he moved to the front parlor that had been converted into a makeshift waiting area and sat down in a large brown leather chair, moving the baby into the crook of his right arm, looking down into her sleeping face, "I grew up with five brothers and sisters. I helped deliver two of them and took care of all of them when they were infants. I just picked up some tricks along the way."

Katherine smiled a little as she sat in the chair opposite him and watched him wrap the blanket tighter around the baby.

Elijah looked up to catch the look on Katherine's face. And he suddenly, thought back to something he found out about Katherine over the years—that she had once had and lost a baby.

"Would you like to hold her?" he offered

"Me? Uh, no…" Katherine sat up in breathless surprise, "I mean, I couldn't…_I shouldn't._"

"It's alright. She's asleep. She won't bite" Elijah said with a smile as he got up from the chair and walked the short distance over to Katherine, who tensed up nervously.

"I—" she started, but Elijah gently placed the baby into her arms and stepped back, watching as her arms suddenly relaxed and she swallowed nervously as she looked down into the face of the sleeping infant, her features suddenly filling with a mixture of awe and curiosity.

"She's really beautiful, isn't she?" Katherine finally said with a small smile as she pulled the baby closer to her.

"Yes. She is." Elijah affirmed, watching them together and he immediately thought of Liliya and then of Elena.

One after the other, the image of each of them replaced Katherine holding the baby —what could have been _and _what hopefully, would be.

Then, his mind suddenly flashed back to Katherine.

This trip—this whole experience of seeing her again, made him finally see things in her he had never realized before. Five hundred years ago, he didn't get to see this side of Katherine. He was only left with the memories of the chaste, beautiful and shy maiden who betrayed him in the most horrible way. From what he was seeing now, she had a sense of humor, she could be patient and kind and there were times when she could be vulnerable and even human.

"It was better—becoming a vampire, I mean" Katherine suddenly whispered, bringing Elijah out of his trance, "How I was—_who_ I was when I was human, I would have never been a good mother."

She looked down into the baby's face for another moment, then looked up to Elijah.  
>"You, however," she confirmed in soft voice, "It's a shame you didn't stay human, because <em>you<em> would have made an excellent father."

Elijah furrowed his brow and considered this for a moment, but before he could say anything the back parlor opened and Misha and Lisa walked out into the hallway.

"Thank you, Misha," Lisa said, her arm enfolded in the drag queen's, "I guess I just panicked as usual. I didn't mean to barge in on you. I know you have company—"

"Please, darlin' that's what next door neighbors are for. You come anytime and I'll give it to you straight up, girl, free of charge. Just know that you'll be fine. You are a smart and independent woman. You just focus on taking care of that baby and all will be well, alright? I'll be right here if you ever need me to read you, again."

Lisa nodded, "Thanks."

Elijah turned toward the doorway and watched as Katherine came to his side with the still sleeping infant.

"And Thank _you,_ again," Lisa said, turning to Elijah

"Sure," He smiled as he watched her take the baby from Katherine.

"Bye, now." Lisa smiled at the two of them and gave Misha a little wave as the warlock opened the front door for her.

It was just as she crossed the threshold that Elijah heard her whisper to the infant, "Let's go home, Elena, huh? I bet you're hungry."  
>Elijah's heart suddenly dropped in his chest and just then, Misha fell hard against the open front door with a loud thud, convulsing.<p>

Elijah turned his focus to his friend down on the ground, screaming and contorting in pain.

He immediately made his way to Misha's side, Katherine close behind.

"Misha? What's happening?" Elijah asked in a concern

"Your Mother," Misha said in a low, tortured voice, then he let out another loud a scream, his face flushing red as he grabbed Elijah's suit jacket and pulled him closer, "My blocking spell—it came down when I read Lisa. She's finally found me, Elijah, she's channeling my energy…Lord, help us, she's found another way…"

Misha let out another scream as Elijah took his friends hand in his and asked, "What do you mean 'she's found another way', Misha?"

Misha sucked in a harsh breath.

"She's found another way to kill you—_all of you_—" he said with knowing eyes as he pulled Elijah closer and whispered, "She knows—knows that you didn't drink….she knows you found a loophole to the binding spell…"

Elijah's face dropped as he watched Misha's dark, watering eyes immediately move to the silver ring on his pinky finger.

"And she's found a way to fix it."


	29. Chapter 29

"What can we do?" Elijah asked, looking down into his friend's pained face

"Water," Misha whispered, trying to straighten as he opened his eyes, "I need water."

Elijah nodded

"I'll go to the kitchen and get some," Katherine offered, rising to her feet from where she had crouched next to them.

"Wait." Elijah said turning to her, "he means _alot_ of water. We need to put him in the bathtub. Water—it acts as a natural conduit for spells. He can use it to funnel his remaining energy and block my Mother."

Misha close his eyes in acknowledgement as Katherine gave him a short nod.

"Where's the closest bathroom?" she asked

"Upstairs," Elijah said and in a flash Katherine disappeared with vampire speed up the staircase.

Elijah turned back to Misha, reaching forward and sitting his friend fully upright, causing Misha to moan uncomfortably and let out a discomforting cough.

"Come on," the original said as he gently wrapped Misha's right arm around his neck, "let's get you upstairs before you lose consciousness."

Misha nodded weakly as Elijah hoisted him unsteadily to his feet.

As he gained his balance, Misha brought his free hand to Elijah's chin and let out a gasp of painful effort as he took hold of his friend's face and turned it toward him, forcing Elijah to meet his gaze.

Elijah's brow furrowed as he studied Misha's face—a face that was suddenly brimming with what seemed like a thousand different emotions.

Misha opened his mouth to speak when Katherine suddenly appeared before them at the bottom of the stairs.

"The water is running. Do you need help?" she asked, stepping forward

Elijah broke away from Misha's trance and looked over to her.

"If you could grab his other shoulder, that will distribute the weight and we'll carry him up together."

Katherine nodded as she descended the last few stairs and brought Misha's left arm around her neck.

"We need to go fast before he looses consciousness."

Katherine nodded again

"On the count of three…" Elijah said, then turned to Misha who closed his eyes as if he was going to be sea sick, "one…two…three!"

Suddenly, in a flash, they were in the upstairs hallway in front of the bathroom door, but as they moved forward, Elijah fell, releasing his hold on Misha as he collapsed against the doorframe.

"Elijah?" Katherine cried in a worried tone as Misha swayed, his weight falling unbalanced on Katherine.

Elijah took a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn't sure how he had fallen. He just felt so dizzy all of a sudden. How could he suddenly be so weakened?

He quickly saw the predicament Katherine was in and pulled himself shakily to his feet, still holding on to the frame for support.

After a moment, he reached out and grabbed Misha's arm again, swinging it over his neck, pulling him back to even out his weight.

"Are you alright?" Katherine asked concerned

"I'm fine," he said in an unconvincing voice—he sure as hell didn't feel fine, but he couldn't leave his friend in the state he was in and couldn't very well leave Katherine to do it all herself. He looked to Misha's face as it started to pale and his neck muscles loosened, causing his head to roll forward. He saw that his old friend was fading fast, "We need to get him into the tub."

"_You_ need to rest," Katherine protested, "I can tell you haven't fed in at least two days, and that trip up the stairs probably didn't do you any good. You're weak, Elijah—"

"I'll rest when he's in that water," Elijah interjected, nodding toward the filled tub, "now, come on."

Katherine rolled her eyes as they sauntered across the Mexican tile toward the Edwardian style bathtub.

Without saying a word, they worked like clockwork.

Katherine nodded to Elijah and he nodded back in acknoweldgement before she gently unfolded herself from under Misha as Elijah turned and bore the full weight of his friend with a grimace as Katherine worked quickly, unbuttoning the back of Misha's green emerald dress and peeling it off of him, revealing nothing but grey jockey shorts.

She tossed the dress aside and immediately took up part of Misha's weight again, eliciting a groan of relief from Elijah.

Katherine was right. He _was_ fading as fast as Misha had.

Elijah hadn't worried much about it until now, but after his confrontation with Kol and everything else he had been through in the last twenty-four hours, he needed blood.

Misha was completely unconscious when they lowered him into the hot water, Katherine taking care to remove his Jimmy Chu high heels.

As his feet followed into the water, Misha eyes opened wide within seconds and he let out a loud, quick gasp as if something had shocked him awake.

Elijah took a seat on the edge of the tub

"Misha?"

Misha blinked slowly, "She's gone. I can't feel her anymore, but she didn't leave empty handed."

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked narrowing his eyes

Misha took in a breath, "She knows that it's too dangerous and conspicuous to channel my energy after what happened with the other members of my family, so she took all my spiritual energy—she's stockpiling it and not for rainbows and ticker tape parades, it can tell you that much."

Elijah sat back, as his mind was suddenly overwhelmed with a million thoughts.

"Elijah?" Katherine asked, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder

"Katerina, would you mind making us some tea. Our friend is going to be in this porcelain prison for sometime. I could also use some blood—"

Misha turned his head in Katherine's direction.

"Tea is in the pantry, blood bags are in the deep freezer in the cellar." He said in a weak voice, "And a chocolate bar would also be much appreciated."

Elijah smirked

Katherine released Elijah's shoulder and nodded, "Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She then turned and left the room.

A short silence fell over them as Misha closed his eyes and Elijah looked over his shoulder to make sure Katherine was really gone before he leaned forward and brought his hands together, rubbing them nervously.

"You're worried," Misha finally said, turning toward Elijah as he opened his eyes again, "you _should_ be. I've seen what your Mother is up to."

Elijah swallowed as he looked into his friend's face, "And?"

Misha winced as he tried to sit up in the tub, leaning on the side frame for support as he pulled himself in front of Elijah.

"Jeg skal vise dere," he said as he reached a wet hand from the water and brought it up to rest on the left temple of Elijah's forehead.

Elijah's felt his body jolt and his eyes flutter as images immediately flooded his mind.

Esther bumping into Katherine casually on a street at nightfall in Chicago and striking up a conversation with her…

Esther watching as Elijah converses with Stefan Salvatore, then enters the Mystic Falls bank…

Liliya placing the ring on his finger a thousand years ago, "Now you are bound to me"…

Esther standing in front of the Salvatore vault in the Mystic Falls cemetery—the image of it overlapping with an image of the village where they lived a thousand years ago…

Niklaus' eyes glowing yellow and his features changing as his sinks his fangs into Liliya's neck in front of the ritual fire as Finn and Kol struggled to restrain Elijah, who is screaming and trying to free himself from the tree his father had tied him to…

Esther watching through the window of Klaus' mansion as Rebekah took the bag of white oak stakes from Stefan Salvatore and Klaus threatened him for the final stake…

Esther revealing herself to Rebekah in the den and taking her hands before falling onto the floor and Rebekah turning to Niklaus, "She's dead"…

Rebekah standing in front of Alaric Saltzman in the cave, Alaric holding one of the white oak stakes in his hand, "I don't want one original to die…I want them all to die." Alaric's shocked expression, "You're not Rebekah." Rebekah letting a small smile escape her lips, "No, my name is Esther and we have a great deal in common"…

Elijah took a deep breath as he felt Misha's hand move away from his temple and he opened his eyes.

He shook his head, trying to get his bearings back as Misha lowered himself tiredly back into the bathtub.

"My sister?" Elijah asked, his voice cracking with emotion

"She's only a vessel. She's safe for now. Esther will not kill her yet, she'll discard her soon so that she can be in her human form to use my energy to produce her piece de resistance."

"And what is that?"

Misha closed his eyes and continued in a weak voice, "It seems that Niklaus has found a way to unbind you and your siblings, rendering Esther's original spell null and void. Esther knows this and she's found another way to end your lives, but like I said before, she also knows that you didn't originally drink the wine for the original spell. You would have felt the effects of the dagger, but had she succeeded in killing your siblings, the first time around, you would have not stayed dead. She's your Mother, boy, she created you and she knows that you are clever and smarter than the others. You are also strong and a good fighter an you will be the hardest one to kill, especially now that you have to be staked."

"She's going to use the last white oak stake?" Elijah asked, confused, recalling Esther's memory of Stefan, Klaus and Rebekah with stakes and Klaus knowing that Stefan was with-holding one.

How on earth was his Mother going to pull off staking all of them, especially since, according to legend and what Damon had told him about his father's demise, the stake burned up in the victim.

Misha smirked sadly, "Oh, she's found a way. She's also found a way to bind you to the one original that everyone wants dead."

"Niklaus," Elijah whispered

Misha nodded slowly, then cast his eyes down to the ring on Elijah's hand.

"She is binding you through the connection you both had with Liliya. The ring you're wearing was forged with silver from the earth where Mystic Falls sits—where all three of you were born. You loved Liliya—you were soul mates and that kind of bond leaves a mark on both persons' souls and beings and when Niklaus killed Liliya in the ceremony my Mother and Esther used to bind his werewolf side, whether you know it or not, her death caused a supernatural link between you and Niklaus that exists to this day. Before Esther took over Katherine's body and led you back to the ring, she spelled it so that when you put the ring back on, it would make the link stronger. As long as you are wearing it, the link between you and Niklaus is cemented. If she succeeds in killing Klaus or someone else beats her to it—"

Elijah let out a staggered breath as he looked down to the ring, "I die."

Misha closed his eyes and nodded.

There was a moment of silence as both of them let the revelation fall over the room.

Finally, Misha opened his eyes and watched Elijah silently twirl the silver ring on his pinky finger in contemplation.

"I think you should take it off." Misha whispered with raised eyebrows

Elijah released the ring and straightened, casting a stern gaze on his friend.  
>"<p>

No." he said, "He's my brother, Misha. If it is meant to be, then so be it."

Misha opened his mouth to protest, but suddenly Katherine entered the room carrying a mug of tea in her right hand with a Hershey's chocolate bar entwined in the fingers and two blood bags in her left hand.

As she surveyed the faces in the room, she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Okay…did I miss something? You're acting like someone's just died."

Elijah cleared his throat as he stood from his position on the side of the tub and took the blood bags from her.

"Nothing—it's nothing...Misha was just going to tell me what he knows about the Original bloodlines."


	30. Chapter 30

"Original bloodlines?" Misha asked and Elijah rolled his eyes—well, Hell, there goes his cover for their previous conversation.

Katherine gave a confused look, but Elijah continued, "We need your help tracing the bloodlines. It seems that when an original dies, all those who were turned by them over the centuries die as well. We need you help with one vampire in particular who once was part of our circle when we lived in England in the 1400's."

"Who is it?" Misha asked as Katherine suddenly remembered she was still holding his tea and handed it to him.

"Rose."

Misha eyes widened, "Rose? The servant girl—the one who was always running around with that scrumptious little Trevor boy?"

"I have no information on her and I need to know which one of my siblings sired her."

"Why don't you just track her down and ask her?"

"If it were that simple, don't you think that I would have done it by now? She's dead, Misha."

"I see."

"She's the key to everything," Elijah said, stepping forward, "There are allies—people we care about back in Mystic Falls—who have all incidentally been turned by one of our bloodlines that will die needlessly if the wrong original is staked—"

"And suffer needlessly. Like say for example, the doppelganger." Misha affirmed

"Yes." Elijah said in a low voice, averting his gaze

Misha smirked as he took a sip of his tea.

"I've seen her in your Mother's visions. She's quite beautiful, Elijah. You care about her and she cares about you, but she also cares about the demise of her friends who were turned…"

Misha lowered his cup and looked over to Katherine incredulously

"By _you_. Who, incidentally was turned by our good friend, Rose, am I right? _God,_ you really didn't want to be the doppelganger anymore did you?"

Katherine folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes.

For a moment, Elijah could see that she contemplated killing him right there in the bathtub.

"How do you know all that?" she asked

Misha gave a small smile, "Why do you think Elijah didn't bother to introduce us when you first arrived here? Because I already know you, Katerina Petrova."

Katherine straightened immediately at the sound of her Christian name.

"Oh, _yes_." Misha said, taking another calm sip of tea, "I was there for it all. Who do you think helped Elijah find the elixir that would have saved your life in 1492? And after your escape, who do you think kept tabs on you and sent our boy here in your direction for all those centuries? And who do you think got that handsome society tart, George Lockwood, onto your trail in Mystic Falls, hmm?"

Katherine stepped forward quickly to attack, but Elijah gave her a stern look over his shoulder and she stopped immediately, still seething.

After a moment, Katherine scoffed angrily and looked down to Misha's candy bar still resting in her hand. Keeping her eyes harshly on Misha, she slowly unwrapped it in front of him and took a stern bite out of one of the top corners before turning on her heel and leaving through the bathroom door.

Elijah rolled his eyes as he turned back to Misha, "Did you have to do that?"

"Piss her off a little? Make her leave? Then, yes." Misha smirked, taking another drink of his tea, "She took my chocolate, by the way."

"I'll get you another chocolate bar," Elijah consoled

"I don't trust her, Elijah, and neither should you. She may have also gotten screwed over in this deal with Esther and she may be all vaulnerable and friendly right now, but part of her will always be that Katerina Petrova we knew five hundred years ago. We should at least neutralize one potential enemy while we can, because from what I've seen from your Mother's visions, these 'allies' you've made back in Mystic Falls—the ones you are trying to help—they seem to have _no problem_ betraying you when they have to. This knowledge on the bloodlines is your most useful leverage in saving your siblings and I think we should be selective about what Katerina hears on the subject."

Elijah nodded and Misha set his empty tea and saucer on the side of the bathtub.

"Alright then, drink a bag of that blood, pretty boy, while I gather my strength," Misha said, closing his eyes and laying his head back against the porcelain, "You're going to need some pep in you if I am to do a reading."

Elijah leaned back on the edge of the vanity sink, placing one of the bags on the marble countertop and watching as Misha began whispering an incantation to himself in runic.

Elijah looked down to the remaining blood bag in his hand, then after letting out a long sigh, pulled the top, bringing the opening to his mouth.

The minute the A positive hit his tongue he felt the overwhelming sense of vitality return to his body as the precious liquid traveled down his throat. The blood wasn't body temperature, it was room temperature, but it was enough to send a warming sensation coursing through his veins.

His eyes changed for a few moments as he downed the last of the blood bag and when he finally tossed it aside into the bathroom trash can, stood up and closed his eyes, willing his vampire features away.

Misha opened his eyes at that moment and turned to Elijah, holding out a hand, "Help me sit up,"

Elijah quickly removed his suit jacket, hanging it on a nearby towel hook and rolling up his dress shirt sleeves as he moved forward and knelt next to the tub.

"Marc Jacobs?" Misha quipped with a wince as Elijah took his friends hands in his and helped him sit up.

"No, Armani…but thanks for noticing."

Misha smirked and closed his eyes in pain as he struggled to stay upright.

Elijah could see the warlock was still pretty drained.

"So what do we do?" Elijah asked, searching Misha's face

"While you were eating, I was trying to contact Rose, but I got nothing. We are going to have to go the scenic route I'm afraid— I'm not gonna sugar coat it, handsome, it's a rough road. That's why I needed you to feed."

Elijah quirked an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Misha continued.

"I know some things about Rose—things that not everyone knows—like the fact that she was particularly close to two originals before she turned."

"What?" Elijah asked with narrowing eyes.

"Finn..." Misha said steadily, "And Klaus."

Elijah's face dropped

"Now, for some reason, I can't sense a connection to Finn—"

Elijah's lip trembled and quickly moved his hands out of Misha's grasp.

Misha's face turned to shock as he fell back slightly, unable to keep his balance.

"Elijah?" he questioned softly as Elijah immediately came to his senses and grabbed hold of his friend's forearm.

"It's nothing." Elijah said, trying to keep his voice even, "I'm sorry. Continue."

Misha studied Elijah's face for another moment as he straightened himself against the side of the tub.

"Like I said, I can't connect with Finn, but the good news is that we can use Esther's spell against her in a way. If I can't connect with the one brother, I'll connect with other and go through the process of elimination. In short, we'll use the stronger connection Esther established between you and Niklaus to read his memories and see if he sired Rose and Katherine's bloodline. If he didn't, then we'll know that it was Finn."

Elijah stiffened. Misha had no idea that Finn was dead and that all those in his bloodline had already burned up with him. Elijah contemplated telling Misha about Finn, but decided to keep his friend's reading unbiased and, since he knew Misha had also once been good friends with Finn, emotionally stable.

Misha leaned forward, breaking Elijah's thoughts.

"Look, I know it's not going to be a walk in the park for you. You were there for most of the horrific stuff and I know you want to forget, but if you want to help your siblings—if you want to help _her-_this is the way."

Elijah drew a heated breath and nodded, "Alright."

Misha nodded in return, "Alright, but I'll need your help."

"With what?"

"Magic is always a balance-a two way street. If Esther bound you to Klaus with your ring, then there is something that Klaus has carried with him over the centuries as well—something that means a great deal to him—something he wears that is tied to you, your family, and this land. I need you to think about what it might be."

Elijah's eyes narrowed as his mind raced.

There was only one thing he could think of and it made his heart warm involuntarily at the memory behind the object.

"His runic necklace." Elijah said in low voice, his gaze meeting Misha's

Misha's eyes widened, "You think he still has it? After a thousand years?"

Elijah smiled down at his ring, "I know he still wears it. I've seen it. When it means that much to you...it's hard to let go."

"I remember the day you gave it to him," Misha smirked

"His twelfth birthday," Elijah said, trying to keep his voice from cracking

They shared a look for a moment, then Misha took a deep breath.

"Okay," Misha said, closing his eyes, "Let's do this. I'll will the necklace into my mind and focus on it and hopefully be able to connect the energy from the two objects."

Suddenly, his grip tightened and he opened one eye and looked focused it on Elijah

"I've gotta warn you though, the connection might sting a little…"

Elijah raised an eyebrow

"Okay, _a lot," _Misha lamented, "but don't worry, if it gets wild, I'll sever the connection—"

"No." Elijah said, sternly, repositioning his hands in Misha and steeling himself, "I can take it. Just do what you have to. We need that information."

Misha nodded and closed the eye again.

There was a moment of silence, then suddenly, Misha started speaking runic again, his voice starting low, but steadily becoming louder.

Elijah felt a jolt of electricity through the palm of his hands but he did not let go.

He grimaced and closed his eyes and that's when he saw them—the memories—Niklaus' memories—they flashed before him like a fast-forwarding home movie.

Some were happy, some were _definitely not_, but all were meaningful in a life that spanned over a thousand years.

One thing could always be said for Niklaus—he had not wasted his immortality.

Elijah could feel the searing pain traveling up his arms now into his shoulders as the memories flashed on—some too quick for him to decipher, but he hoped that Misha could.

His neck was now throbbing as the pain continued to the base of his spine below his skull. His mouth opened and a silent scream escaped his mouth. God it _was_ painful.

Finally with one last great shock that spasamed through his whole body, he felt Misha release his hands and before he opened his eyes, heard the warlock splash back into the tub.

Elijah's eyes opened then and he leaned forward immediately and grabbed Misha by the shoulders, his forearms and shirtsleeves getting soaked as he tried to keep his friend above water.

Misha spouted water from his mouth, then took a few deep breaths to compose himself, before he leaned forward, grasping the side of the tub.

"Are you alright?" he asked Elijah, breathlessly

"I'm more worried about you." Elijah said, his grip still tight on his friend

Misha smiled weakly, "Always the noble one."

"Did you see anything?" Elijah asked

Misha nodded, "I got a name and a face. Mary Porter...does that mean anything to you?"

Elijah nodded in disbelief, "She was a one-time paramour of Niklaus'. He always had a passing thing for human women. He met her in Wales in the late 1400's, I think. But, by 1490, when we moved to London, they were no longer together—"

"Well, he was _definitely_ the one who turned her. I saw it." Misha confirmed, "But, after he left her, it seems she just couldn't let go and she followed him. When his eye turned to our young friend, Rose, in London, she befriended and then turned her just to spite him."

"I never knew that." Elijah said, "Well, now I see why Kol called her 'Scary Mary'"

"_Really?"_ Misha asked amused and they both chuckled

After a few moments Misha rested a wet hand on Elijah's shoulder, his eyes brimming with worry as he looked down to the silver ring on his friend's hand, "Now that we know for sure that it's Niklaus that turned Rose's bloodline, are you sure there isn't anything I can do to convince you to take that ring off?"

Elijah sighed, "I can't— at least, not until the last minute—not until I know that I can save Niklaus and the others. If can't…"

He suddenly looked away, his emotions betraying him

"If you can't…what?" Misha encouraged

"Ayanna had six of you, Misha," Elijah said in a low voice, "You have siblings and you know what being a big brother means."

Misha gave a knowing nod, his face turning sad. He knew exactly what Elijah was going to say before he said it.

"If I can't save them," Elijah whispered, turning back to his friend, "Then I want to die, too."


	31. Chapter 31

After the reading, Elijah helped Misha out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him before helping him to his room.

After helping him dress and asking if he needed anything, Elijah excused himself as tired, stating that his friend should get some rest, too.

Misha pointed him in the direction of one of the guest rooms down the hall.

Elijah took the second blood bag from the bathroom with him as he entered the lavishly decorated room and without turning on the light or taking off his dress shirt and pants or even thinking of turning down the sheets, plopped himself down on the bed and tossing the blood bag on the comforter on the other side of him, lay back on the pillows and closed his eyes.

He was drifting in and out of sleep when he heard voices downstairs. They sounded like Katerina and Misha.  
>Elijah turned his head to the clock on the beside table—midnight.<p>

His eyes fluttered involuntarily and he drifted back to sleep.

_New World 1038 A.D. _

_Elijah hummed quietly as he ferried in the stable. He found that humming or singing calmed the horses, especially on stormy days like to day, when thunder rumbled in the sky periodically, lightning flashed and raindrops sounded violent on the rooftop and work and chores must go on._

_The village needed a good rain every once in a while, but Elijah never much cared for storms. To him, they always brought about bad omens._

_As he lowered the horse's right hoof gently and picked up his stool to moved to the next hind foot, Elijah heard the sound of someone approaching quickly before the stable door flung open just as a strike of lightning lit up the afternoon sky. _

"_Elijah!" _

_Elijah turned around quickly—it was Henrik and he was soaked to the bone. _

_Elijah stood, taking in the sight of his seven year old brother, shaking. _

"_You need to come—hurry!" Henrik cried, taking huge gulps of air, "We were hunting and the storm just came on us and then the river, it flooded while we were in the caves and—"_

_Elijah's face dropped immediately and so did the hammer and nails in his hand. _

"_Henrik… where is Finn?" Elijah asked concerned_

_Henrik burst into tears_

_Elijah ran forward and grabbed Henrik by the shoulders, trying to get his brother to focus on him. _

"_Henrik, listen to me—listen! Go down to Hamner Lockvuds and get father and Niklaus!"  
><em>

_Henrik stood frozen _

"_Go Henrik!" Elijah cried and when his brother finally came to his senses and flew back out into the storm, Elijah moved quickly to the workbench on the far end of the stable and grabbed his tool belt, his sword and a strong length of rope._

_Without another moment's hesitation, he sprinted through the stable threshold and out into the rain. _

_He ran as fast as his legs would carry him through the woods and toward the falls, the raindrops stinging against his face and the wind fighting him. _

_When he finally reached the rock formation near the caves, he quickly saw that a flash flood had caused the river to spill forward into the cave tunnels, blocking the entrance with rushing water. _

_Elijah reversed and sprinted to the side of the cliff, near the base of one of the rock formations over the caves and threw himself on the ground, crawling on his hands and knees to the small opening overlooking one of the cave tunnels. _

_His face fell in horror as he watched the raging water rush quickly underneath. There had to be at least five feet of water already. _

_There was perhaps only three feet clearance from the surface of the angry water to the ceiling of the caves in certain areas. _

_Elijah's eyes danced quickly over the water and he tried to formulate a plan as to what to do when suddenly, he heard a gasp and a cough echo in the tunnel. _

_He watched as Finn surfaced and shook his head like a wet dog, trying desperately to stay above water as the flood carried him out of site, again. _

"_Finn!" Elijah cried and immediately propelled himself onto his feet, sprinting off in the direction the water was flowing, making his way to the second rock formation. _

_He wedged himself under the rock face and pushed his upper body through the narrow opening at the top of the cave and waited for Finn to come by again, carried by the river. _

_When Finn appeared, Elijah took a deep breath and hurled himself through the opening and dove head first into the raging water below. _

_When he surfaced, he wiped the water from his eyes and tried to tread water as he looked from one end of the tunnel to the other, trying to locate Finn as the water continued to carry him through the caverns. _

"_Finn!" Elijah cried, but there was nothing but the sound of rushing water_

_Elijah cursed to himself and quickly started swimming forward with the current, hoping that Finn was still ahead of him and that he had not gone under. _

"_Finn!" he cried again and this time he was answered_

"_Elijah!" Finn called, gurgling water as he struggled to keep his head above water_

_Elijah dove under the surface and kicked with all his might, propelling himself quickly to his brother's side. _

_After a few moment, he surfaced near Finn and grabbed hold of his shirt collar. _

_Finn smiled weakly and grabbed hold of Elijah's leather vest, ensuring that they wouldn't lose each other. _

"_Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of this." Elijah assured him, then quickly looked up to the ceiling of the cave, it was closing in…the water was rising._

_He also estimated that they were close to the next rock formation. _

_Henrik had gone to get Niklaus and their father, he just prayed that they would make it in time or they would quite possibly drown._

_As they continued forward, Elijah kept one hand on Finn, trying to hold him above water, as he reached his other hand down blindly to his belt. He pulled the small hand pick ax and twirled the handle in his hand, brining the weapon to the ready. _

_As they continued moving with the current, Elijah continued to look up to the ceiling, trying to judge when they were below the next rock formation. _

_They didn't have to wait long. _

_Soon Elijah could see the sunlight flowing through the third rock formation domed above them. _

_Still holding on to Finn with his left hand, he turned against the current and with his right hand, hammered the pick ax into the side of the cavern wall, the hook catching the rock and stilling them in the rushing water, just below the formation opening. _

_Elijah breathed a sigh of relief._

_If they could hold their position with the pick ax for a little while longer, then the others would surely find them when they searched the rock formations. _

_Still holding onto the pick ax, Elijah pulled himself closer against the cave wall, pulling Finn closer to his body. _

_After a few moments of sitting against the wall as the water continued to swell, Elijah felt something was wrong.  
><em>

_Finn was awfully quiet and he was cold…**really** cold._

_He looked down in to his brother's face to see that it was turning ash white and his breathing was shallow._

_Elijah turned his brother's face toward him_

"_Oh, God, Finn…Finn!" he cried, searching Finn's face trying to figure out what was wrong. _

_As he wrapped his arm tighter around his brother's body, he saw large quantities of blood start to come to the surface of the water. _

_Elijah face fell.  
><em>

_Of course, that's why Finn was having a hard time staying above water—he was injured and practically bleeding to death. _

"_Oh, no…no…" Elijah said in a panic as Finn started to go limp in his arms, "No, no! Finn, you have to stay with me! Don't do this now!" _

_Finn struggled to stay awake, his head falling forward onto Elijah's shoulder. _

_Elijah winced.  
><em>

_He could feel his arms starting to fatigue, but he wasn't going to give up. _

_He quickly looked up to the rock formation and the opening—nothing. _

_He looked back down to Finn and decided he couldn't wait any longer for help to arrive, h__is brother was fading fast. _

_With all his might, Elijah turned, guiding Finn's body toward the cave wall, pinning him on his back gently against the rock with his left forearm as he turned his wrist and reached down under the surface of the water to his belt and released the long coil of rope. _

_Using his left hand, he quickly tied the rope to the end of the pick ax and tugged, ensuring the knot was secure. _

_Elijah looked back up over his shoulder at the opening under the rock formation. _

_He would have only one shot at this once he let go of the cave wall, but if it could save Finn, he was willing to risk it.  
><em>

_If the water kept rising as it was, they were dead anyway. _

_Elijah closed his eyes in silent prayer for a moment, then taking a deep breath, took a tight grip on Finn and pulled the pick ax free with his right arm, slinging it hard over his shoulder toward the opening above him as he turned. _

_There was a loud clank and then, just as it felt like Elijah and Finn were being pulled down the current again, the rope tightened in Elijah's grip and he looked up to see that he had made the toss. _

_The pick ax had caught at the mouth of the opening above and now the rope hung down—their ladder to salvation. _

_Elijah breathed a sigh of relief as he kicked with his legs toward the other side of the cave across the current, holding the rope his right hand and dragging Finn with his left._

_When he made it to the wall, he pulled himself up with all of his strength until the soles of his feet rested against the side of the cave. _

_Dipping backward into the water, her flung Finn over his left shoulder and with his right arm started to propel himself up the side of the cave wall, the water swelling quickly underneath him. _

_He had to stop and start a few times—falling into the water in defeat, but always trying again._

_It was hard to do with one arm, but Elijah could feel the adrenaline kicking in his favor.  
><em>

_He had to get his brother out of the cave. That was all he cared about. _

_Elijah could feel his right shoulder burning—he could feel the flesh tearing in the socket, but he didn't care, he kept going, his face turning red with exhaustion and the water coming up quickly behind them. _

_If he gave up now, they would certainly drown. _

_Finally, they reached the opening and Elijah quickly felt a strong hand grip his right wrist at the lip of the rock formation. _

_It was Mikael, the storm raging behind him—sweat and rain dripping off of his face._

_Niklaus came forward too, Kol at his side. _

_Both boys took hold of Finn and pulled him off of Elijah's shoulder as Elijah cried out in pain as Mikael helped pull him the rest of the way up. _

_As Elijah fell onto the ground at Mikael's feet, he grabbed his right shoulder—he was sure it was dislocated, but he pushed all of the pain out of his mind as he turned his father's attention to his brother.  
><em>

_"You have to get him home—to Mother and Ayanna— he's severely wounded" Elijah told his father_

_Elijah watched Mikael's face suddenly fall as he looked over and saw Niklaus hold up both of his hands covered in Finn's blood. _

"_Please, Father…leave me here…take him…I'll be fine." Elijah winced_

Elijah's eyes flew open and he let out a gasp…..

It had happened, yes, but it was also a dream.

He took a staggered breath and ran his hands over his face, blinking his eyes, willing back the tears that were starting to brim there as he stared into the darkness.

He looked over to the clock on the bedside table.

It was 9pm…the next evening.

At Misha's request, Katherine had arrived in Elijah's car in Mystic Falls just after nine, when she saw a sight that she never though she would see—Klaus, Stefan and Damon, walking down the darkened main street together in formal wear and silence.

Curious, Katherine parked near the Mystic Grill and stepped out of the car, following them down and across the pike and over Wickery Bridge.

When they arrived at Harper's Woods, Katherine hung back, as Stefan, Damon, and Klaus weaved through the trees toward their destinations—The Mystic Falls Cemetery.

When the finally stopped, she stopped too, shielding herself behind a large oak tree and watched from hundreds of yards out as Klaus, dressed in a cream colored vintage suit, conversed with Jeremy Gilbert and the Salvatore Brothers, then picked up the limp body of a tall, blonde, middle aged woman from the hallow ground. Katherine's eyes widened as she realized that it was the same woman she had bumped into in Chicago days before—before she woke up in Lincoln Park, with no memory of how she had gotten there or where she had been or what she had been doing for at least twenty four hours.

The reality of what Elijah had told her in the car on the way to Suffolk finally started to sink in, but she quickly shook her head, trying to concentrate back on the events unfolding as she watched Klaus race off into the night with his cargo.

Stefan looked silently over to Damon and Damon returned the look before they both turned their attention toward the moseluem that loomed up in front of them marked SALVATORE. The same mausoleum Jeremy Gilbert disappeared back into.

Katherine concentrated and soon realized that there were voices coming from inside.

"_Does he know about the stake?" _she heard a voice say—a voice she recognized as Alaric Saltzman. She would recognize it anywhere, especially after Klaus trapped her in his apartment while he walked around in the history teacher's skin for a while.

"_No," _Jeremy said, "_only that she tried to turn you into a weapon and failed... __what's going on?" _

Alaric sniffed_, "Listen, Jeremy, I'm not going to complete the transition. My dark side was dangerous enough as a human. I can't be a vampire." _

"_So… what? We're just going to lock you in here and let you die?" _Jeremy cried in shock

Outside the tomb, Damon suddenly stirred and Katherine tuned out of the voices in the rock monument, watching as oldest Salvatore turned and kicked the ground in anger. Stefan immediately walked up behind his brother and tried to comfort him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's his decision, Damon—" Katherine heard Stefan say in a low voice.

Damon turned back to face Stefan, his face still red with anger, "Well it _sucks_!"

Stefan nodded with a solemn face, "Yes. Yes, it does."

To Katherine's surprise Damon did not pull out of Stefan's grasp, he just stood there, staring into his brother's face until a sound nearby, made them both turn.

Katherine straightened against the tree as she suddenly saw a trail of flickering lights through the darkness, dancing through the trees, going in and out as they slowly approached Stefan and Damon.

Soon, she saw that the flickers of light were candles and there were also faces behind them—Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt and a tall dark haired woman Katherine didn't recognize—they each held two candles as they silently approached.

_**Be still and know that I am with you…**_

_**Be still and know that I am here…**_

_**Be still and know that I am with you…**_

_**Be still, be still, and know…**_

Bonnie gave a sad smile as she walked up to Damon and Stefan and gave them each a candle.

"After you left, I had a premonition about his decision and I told the others," she said in a quiet voice, looking over her shoulder as their friends stopped in formation behind her, placing their candles on nearby headstones, then looked back to the brothers, a tear streaming down her right cheek, "And we decided that after all he's done for us, that we couldn't leave him out here alone."

Damon, overwhelmed with emotion, closed his eyes and took his candle, moving away from the conversation, but Stefan held Bonnie's gaze for a moment before giving a solemn nod…

_**When darkness comes upon you and covers you with fear and shame…**_

_**Be still and know that I'm with you…**_

_**And I will say your name…**_

There was a short knock on the bedroom door opened and Elijah sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed as the door opened, shedding an opus of light into the dark room, and Misha entered, wearing a gray undershirt and plaid pajama pants.

He paused for a moment in the doorway, taking in the sight of his friend sitting on the edge of the bed in obvious distress.

"Are you alright?" Misha asked as he walked through the threshold and into the room

Elijah swallowed and took a few short breaths, "I—I'm fine."

_**If terror falls upon your bed and sleep no longer comes…**_

_**Remember all the words I said…**_

_**Be still, be still, and know….**_

Misha inhaled a breath and sat down next to Elijah on the bed, "We've been friends for a thousand years, Elijah, you can't lie to me. You are most definitely _not_ fine."

Elijah turned to face his friend, his nostrils flaring as he tried desperately to keep his face from crumbling and betraying him.

Misha waited, but Elijah didn't say anything.

Misha closed his eyes in pain for a moment

"I _felt_ your dream, Elijah," he whispered as he opened his eyes again and turned them sadly on the original, "How long has Finn been dead?"

Suddenly, something clicked in Elijah and his emotions quickly surfaced, his façade crumbling, the tears he had been willing not to come, brimming in his eyes and beginning to stream down his face.

"They killed him, Misha, with the white oak dagger and I wasn't there—I couldn't stop it. After all the times I saved him over the centuries—protected him—my baby brother is gone…he's just _gone._"

Misha took a breath and wiped his own eyes as he moved in closer to his friend's side.

"What if I can't save the rest of them?" Elijah asked softly, his voice breaking through his sobs. "They can't die on me, Misha…I—I can't lose anyone else…I just _can't_…" …

_**When you go through the valley…**_

_**And shadow comes down from the hill…**_

Katherine watched from the trees as the heavy metal door to the Salvatore mausoleum opened and Jeremy Gilbert walked out, clearly emotional and found his way to stand among his friends, followed by Elena and Alaric moments later.

In the doorway, Alaric and Elena gave each other one last look, before they turned to look out in the darkness.

_**If morning never comes to be…**_

_**Be still, be still, be still…**_

Elena took in the sight, then gave a little smile back to Alaric before she walked out into the softly lit darkness to stand by Stefan. Alaric's eyes started to tear as his eyes looked to Stefan, then Damon, then Tyler and Caroline, then to Matt and Bonnie and finally to Jeremy and Merideth standing among the candles—his make-shift memorial.

******_If you forget the way to go and lose where you came from…_**

Then with one last look, Alaric turned and walked back to the mausoleum, shutting the door behind him…

******_If no one is standing beside you…_**

**_Be still and know I am._**

****"Vi lagrer dem. Jeg skal hjelpe deg", Misha said softly in the language of their youth as he rested his chin on his friend's shoulder and wrapped an arm around Elijah as he wept, "And if we fail, I promise you, you'll never lose me."

**_Be still and know that I'm with you…_**

**_Be still and know I am. _**


	32. Chapter 32

Elijah woke with a pounding headache, the morning light shining through the curtains, causing him to squint as he took in his surroundings for a moment before, laying his head back on the pillow with a soft grunt.

He was still at Misha's house in his guest room.

He looked over to the clock—it was 9:12am

That didn't mean he knew what day it was. He remembered that Misha put a spell on him to force him to go back to sleep after he completely broke down over Finn's death, but it could have lasted twelve hours to a week for all Elijah knew.

Elijah took a breath and forced himself to sit up and winced as his head pounded harshly, the pain resonated through his ears and down his neck.

He rolled his shoulders and looked around.

He gave a half smile when he saw some of Misha's clothes and an electric razor sitting on the cedar chest at the end of the bed. The clothes were an Under Armor jogging suit—not exactly Elijah's style—but what really made him chuckle was the electric razor.

Elijah slowly stood from the edge of the bed and walked over to the full length mirror in the corner of the room.

He ran a hand over the whiskers on his chin and narrowed his eyes in surprise. He hadn't realized out of sorts he allowed his appearance to get and quite frankly he didn't care.

He turned away from the mirror and removed his dress shirt and threw it on the bed, un-tucking his v-necked white undershirt from his dress pants as he made his way to the bedroom door.

As he padded down the hallway barefoot toward the main staircase, he could hear music beginning to sound downstairs.

It was a mixture of jazz and something else, maybe R&B?

Elijah smirked curiously as he followed the beat down the stairs.

When he made it to the bottom landing, he found that it was coming from the direction of the kitchen.

_**Now there was a time,  
><strong>_

_**When you loved me so…  
><strong>_

_**I could have been wrong,  
><strong>_

_**But now you need to know…**_

_**See, I've been a bad, bad, bad, bad man…  
><strong>_

_**And I'm in deep…**_

_**Yeah…**_

_**I found a brand new love for this man,  
><strong>_

_**And I can't wait till you see,  
><strong>_

_**I can't wait…**_

Elijah walked down the front hall to the back of the house and through to the breakfast nook adjoining the kitchen.

_**So how you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?...**_

_**How you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?…**_

Elijah brought his hand up to cover the smile that was spreading across his face as he witnessed Misha, dancing in the kichen in full drag—a blue sequined dress, black pumps and a blue silk derby hat—his feet moving as he twirled in front of the stove with a spatula in his hand to face Elijah, like he could sense his friend was behind him, as he mouthed the words to the chorus and pointed to Elijah.

_**How you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?..**_

_**How you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?...**_

"I've always liked you, Misha," Elijah chuckled as his friend stopped dancing and threw his arms down to his sides, then rolled his eyes as he haughtily pointed to a glass of blood sitting on the island with his spatula.

"Breakfast of champions," he smirked sadly as he turned back to the stove.

_**Remember the time,  
><strong>_

_**When I eat you up…  
><strong>_

_**You know that I wasn't lyin',  
><strong>_

_**that you can't give up…  
><strong>_

Elijah clicked his tongue as he moved toward the island and picked up the glass before looking to his friend's back.

"What? Were you expecting me to come down here and join your little Mardi Gras parade?"

Misha wirled around again and brought the spatula to his chin in thought sarcastically.

"_Actually_, it wasn't a bad idea, I even put on my best hat…" he said, lowering the spatula and turning back to the stove, using the spatula to flip his pancakes, "You know, you might give it a try. It might just pull you out of your little self-imposed pity party and get you back to feeling your old self again."

_**So if I was to cheat on you baby, **_

_**Would you see right through me…**_

Elijah smirked as he looked down into the glass, "Well, I'm not a dancer—"

"Oh, I beg to differ," Misha pointed out with a smile, twirling around once more, "You were one of the best waltzers I had ever seen back in the day and _then_ you were _rockin'_ back in the fifties...mmm… What ever happened to that boy?"

_**If I sing a sad, sad, sad, sad song  
><strong>_

_**Would you give it to me?…  
><strong>_

_**Would ya?  
><strong>_

Elijah gave a sad smile, "I guess he just lost the will to dance. Now I pull it out, but only on _very _special occasions."

Misha put his hands on his hips for a moment, then stepped forward and took the glass of blood out of Elijah's hand, "I don't believe that, not for a second."

They shared a long look and Misha raised a waiting eyebrow as he Elijah narrowed his eyes at Misha who gave him an insisting look as he held the glass of blood up as a prize.

Elijah sighed reluctantly and took a few steps back into the center of the breakfast nook as the lead singer of the band on Misha's Siri radio went into the breathy chorus.

_**How you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?...**_

_**How you like me now?**_

_**How you like me now?...**_

Misha smiled in anticipation and nodded to Elijah and he started to move with the swell of the chorus.

_**How you like me now?  
><strong>_

_**How you like me now?...**_

_**How you like me now?**_

_**How you like me now?...**_

There was a slide from one side to the other, a shoulder dip, a "Dig The Funk", a moonwalk, then a photo finish with a James Brown shuffle and spin, that left Elijah not the least out of breath.

Misha laughed and sat the glass back down on the island as the music died down, conceding the glass to Elijah and clapping.

"Thank You. Feel better?"

"Maybe a little," Elijah smirked as he grabbed the glass and made his way to sit at the kitchen table as Misha turned his attention back to the stove.

"I'm making chocolate chip pancakes, want some?" he asked over his shoulder as Elijah took a sip of blood.

"Sure." Elijah said as he sat down his glass and twirled in thoughtfully in his fingers. Suddenly, his senses perked up and he looked around the room, "Where is Katerina?"

Misha put four pancakes on a plate and brought them over to the table, sitting it front of Elijah before taking a seat next to him.

"Katerina is in Mystic Falls"

"What?" Elijah asked, sitting forward in surprise

"Well, she _was _in Mystic Falls—"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, someone had to go see where things stood—"

"But why Katerina?"

"Because you weren't ready yet, especially after your emotional breakdown last night—and besides we need to know what is going on with Esther and what exactly her plan of attack is—not to mention where your siblings are, since they are so un-predicable at the moment."

Elijah took a deep breath and fisted his hand in his lap.

"I thought you said Katerina couldn't be trusted?" he asked in a low voice

"She _can't be_, but that's not the point here. You know better than I that she's a good stalker—she's alluded capture by Klaus for over five hundred years—those skills could be useful to us." Misha said, picking up a pancake off of Elijah's plate with his hands and taking a bite, "She wanted to help and I told her that the best thing for everyone was if she was to do this one mission for us in Mystic Falls, find out where things stood and then leave and not come back until it was all over."

"And what did she say?" Elijah asked

"She agreed, but only on one condition."

"What?"

"That I tell you she said 'Thanks'." Misha smirked and took another bite.

Elijah smiled sadly

"I promised her I wouldn't turn her over to Klaus and that I would do all I could to keep Stefan Salvatore safe," he said, slowly taking a pancake into his hand and staring at it, "but now that we know Klaus sired Rose's bloodline, it will make it harder to keep _both _of those promises."

"I know you'll do your best and I'm sure she does, too. It's a tough situation, Elijah and no one is asking you to work miracles…" Misha scoffed, then, after a moment, raised an eyebrow, "although, really, they kind of are…"

Elijah smirked and Misha smiled, taking the finishing bite of his pancake as Elijah took his first._**  
><strong>_

"So what _is_ the word from Mystic Falls?" Elijah asked finally after he swallowed, though really, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know—he had a feeling it would just hurt him too much.

Misha's eyes softened under his sparkling blue eyes shadow, "Well, it's not pretty from what Katerina tells me, but I think you need to hear it from someone who might be able to answer that question _better _than Katerina, someone you _also_ made a promise to and is right in the middle of everything that is going on."

Elijah let out a soft breath and lowered the pancake back on his plate, "She was angry with me for leaving and I doubt that I will win points for coming back so late in the game—she probably _hates _me and I don't blame her—"

"Look into your heart, Elijah", Misha said, sitting forward in his chair, "Is that what you _really _think?"

When Elijah remained silent, Misha continued, "Rebekah loves you, Elijah, with a love that is stronger and perhaps more pure and more palpable that her love for Niklaus ever was—"

"And what about Kol?," Elijah asked with sad eyes, "He turned on me in Chicago, Misha, he lured me into a trap so that he could do Niklaus' bidding—"

"Haven't _you_ changed sides in the thousand year battle against your brother? You can't pass judgment on Kol for doing what he thought was right at the time—he probably thought that he was helping himself, you and Rebekah by playing along with Niklaus. You can't guess where he stands now—where _any _of them stand now— unless…" Misha reached down the front of his dress and pulled out Elijah's cell phone and Elijah realized that he must have dropped it the night he was helping Misha upstairs, "You find out."

Elijah eyed Misha, then his eyes fell on the cell phone his friend now held up in his hand.

There was a minute of silence before Misha lowered the phone onto the table and slid it slowly across the wood toward Elijah.

Elijah looked apprehensively down at the phone then up to his friend, again.

"Don't worry…I'm here," Misha said with a reassuring smile, pushing the phone a little closer to the original, "And if you want, I'll hold your hand."


	33. Chapter 33

Elijah took a deep breath and reached forward and picked up the phone, lighting up the touch screen, then scrolling through his contacts before hitting the name of the person he wanted to call.

Misha quirked an eyebrow and held out his hand to Elijah, making good on his previous offer to hold the original's hand for support, but Elijah just smirked and waved him off causing the warlock to smile and sit back in his chair.

Elijah closed his eyes and tried to steady himself as he heard the phone ring—once—twice—three times—four times—five times—

"Elijah?" Rebekah's voice sounded in soft disbelief on the other end, "Is it _really_ you?"

Elijah's heart swelled at his sister's voice.

"It's me, elskede." Elijah replied softly

"I've missed you," Rebekah continued, her voice breaking with emotion

Tears fell from Elijah's eyes as he brought his left hand to run over his face to wipe them away.

"I've missed you, too." He whispered

"Where are you?" Rebekah asked, seemingly trying to pull herself together,"We need you. Things are—well, things are _not_ good."

"Where are _you_?" Elijah sniffed, sitting forward, "Are you and Niklaus safe?"

"We're still in Mystic Falls," Rebekah said in a worried tone, "And we are most definitely _not _safe, Elijah."

"What is happening?" Elijah asked, looking over to Misha with narrowing eyes

"Alaric Saltzman is what's happening. First he went insane and stole the final white oak stake in the Salvatore Brother's possession, _then_ Mother came back into town and tried to turn him into a vampire hunter like Mikael using a spell and Elena's blood. Mother daggered me—I—I was out for most of it, but Nik said that apparently, at the last minute, the spell failed and Alaric killed Mother. We thought that was the end of it. Alaric Saltzman didn't want to be a vampire—he chose to die, but this morning…" She paused for a moment and Elijah heard her take a deep breath before she continued, "This morning I was at the school with Caroline Forbes and he just showed up in full vampire mode with the white oak stake ready to kill us all_._"

Elijah immediately felt sick to his stomach—not an easy thing for a vampire to feel.

"Where is Alaric now?"

"He's stuck in the school—he doesn't have a daylight ring so he won't be able to come out until nightfall."

"Listen, Rebekah, you and Niklaus need to get out of there—"

"I _tried,_ Elijah, I told him it was time to run and I begged him to come with me, but Niklaus—he won't leave without Elena. Apparently, he can't survive without his bloody hybrid army!"

_**Elena...**_

Elijah closed his eyes, the fear and worry quickly creeping up on him. He willed himself to take a deep breath and put Elena to the back of his mind—she had the Salvatores—they would ensure that she would come to no harm. Right now, he had to think about his siblings and what he could do to protect them.

"Then leave him for now," Elijah said in a reluctant voice, "Do you know where Kol is?"

"I know he's alright—that's about it. He's been communicating mostly with Niklaus. Wait—why haven't _you_ contacted him yourself?"

Elijah scoffed, "Let's just say that the last time Kol and I met up recently, it didn't exactly end on friendly terms."

"Oh, God," Rebekah scoffed, "He said you handed over your blood willingly in Chicago—I should have trusted my first instinct that he was lying through his teeth."

"What's done is done, Rebekah, but I would be grateful if you could contact him for me—"

"Do you want me to kick him around a little for you, too? Because I would love that _so much_."

"No. Just find him and meet me."

"Fine," Rebekah sighed, "Will do. Where do you want to meet?"

"There's a house. 5678 Longfellow Drive, Suffolk Virginia" Elijah said giving Misha a smirk

"Suffolk?" Rebekah asked incredulously, "What the _hell_ could be in Suffolk?"

"Excuse me? What's in Suffolk? I'll tell you what's in Suffolk!" Misha suddenly spoke up loudly, sitting forward and leaning closer to the phone, but Elijah cut him off by covering the receiver microphone with his hand.

"Who was that?" Rebekah asked curiously

"Just meet me, alright?" Elijah said giving Misha a look and mouthing 'what was that?' to his friend to which Misha only shrugged.

"Alright," Rebekah lamented, then her end of the phone went silent for a moment before she spoke in a soft voice, "Elijah, Finn is dead."

Elijah's face suddenly went solemn and he sucked in a breath, trying to keep the tears from flowing again.

"I know." He said finally in a low whisper

There was another pause and he could hear Rebekah's soft sobs on the other end.

"Rebekah," he said in the most reassuring voice he could muster at the moment, "Rebekah—listen to me. I'm going to find a way to get us out of this. No one else is going to die. I promise you that I will do everything I can to protect you and Kol and Niklaus, like I always have. You're not alone, _not ever_."

There was another silence.

"I'm glad you called." Rebekah finally said softly, "We'll see you soon."

Then the line went dead.

# # # # # # # # #

Misha left for a drag show in the late morning, and though his friend had shown him how to work the television and all of its remote controls, Elijah decided on the simpler life.

He took a shower, then raided Misha's closet and put on one of his dress shirts and a pair slacks, before spending most of the rest of the day in the back parlor with a bottle of scotch, reading.

He finished the second book in the early evening and had just laid his head back on the sofa, trying to close his eyes to rest –still trying to will the worry and anxiety out of his mind about Elena, about his siblings—_everything_—when the doorbell rang.

Elijah scoffed and opened his eyes as he sat up and put down his drink and his book on the side table, swinging his feet off of the end of the couch. He tried to gaze out one of the front windows as he stood and made his way across the room to the hallway.

When he opened the door, a smile involuntarily crossed his face.

It was Rebekah.

"Elijah." she whispered as a smile of her own came and she threw herself into his arms as he crossed the threshold onto the front porch.

He held her tightly for a few moments, burying his face in the softness of her hair, inhaling her sweet scent—a scent that brought back comfort and a thousand childhood memories.

When they pulled apart, his eyes moved to look over her shoulder behind her. There he saw Kol standing on the sidewalk a few yards away.

Rebekah turned and followed Elijah's gaze back to their brother.

Kol straightened and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, his eyes narrowing in that brooding look that Elijah knew so well.

"He's scared, Elijah," Rebekah whispered, "He didn't like betraying you. He told me on the way here."

Elijah nodded as he stepped forward and made his way past Rebekah down the front porch steps to the sidewalk.

Kol didn't flinch as Elijah approached, but his eyes held just a spark of fear.

Elijah stopped about a foot from Kol and the two men stared at each other for a few moments before Kol finally spoke.

"Elijah, I—" he started, but Elijah raised his right hand to silence him.

Then, when he lowered the hand, he extended it out to Kol.

"Always and forever," Elijah said in a firm voice

Kol smirked and nodded before taking Elijah's offered hand then laughed in surprise as Elijah pulled him into a tight embrace.

Rebekah soon came down the steps behind them and Elijah opened an arm to enfold her in their embrace.

"Oh, good," a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind them in the direction of the front lawn, "I haven't missed the big group hug."

It was Misha.

"Misha?" Rebekah smiled in surprise as she pulled away from her brothers, "Oh, my God! Is it really you? You look fabulous!"

"You look _different..._" Kol smirked and raised an eyebrow at Elijah

Misha smiled and did a little view twirl as Rebekah screamed in delight and ran into his arms.

They embraced for a long moment before Misha pulled back.

"Elijah wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well color us, surprised," Kol quipped

"Alright, family reunion is over," Misha said, wrapping an arm around Rebekah as they started up the sidewalk, "we've got—"

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and his face went pale white.

"Misha?" Rebekah asked in a concerned voice

Misha let out a staggered breath and winced as his upper body fell forward a bit.

Kol moved forward quickly to assess their friend, who now leaned heavily on Rebekah as if weakened by something.

Misha closed his eyes and grimace again.

"No…No…_they can't_…Bonnie…" he whispered as he seemed to fight the images that poured through his head

Elijah tried to move forward to help as well, but to his surprise and immediate frustration, found that he couldn't move…

and there was a pain…

slow…

dulling…

pain…

As Kol got closer to the warlock, Misha's eyes suddenly flew open.

"Elijah!" Misha cried

Kol and Rebekah's gaze immediately followed the warlock's back to the eldest original, just as Elijah groaned and doubled over, still frozen in the same spot, unable to move.

"Shit!" Kol murmured quickly turned back and ran toward his brother as Elijah, struggled to maintain his balance as a searing pain ripped through his entire body.

When he reached Elijah's side, Kol immediately wrapped one of his brother's arms around his shoulders to hold him up as Elijah started to hyperventilate, clutching his chest.

After a moment, the searing pain started to subside, but Elijah still felt frozen inside his own body as his heartbeat began to slow down—he could hear it inside of himself like clock winding down and he could feel it.

His vision started to blur as he saw Misha and Rebekah quickly approach him.

Misha took Elijah's face in his hands and stared into his friend's slowly fading gaze.

"No…No…Bonnie Bennett she just—she just channeled me—"

"What do you mean? What's happening to him?" Rebekah asked in a frantic tone, her eyes quickly moving from Elijah to Misha.

Misha shook his head, "I—the visions were so incoherent—I –I could barely make out her spell, but I think—the only explanation is a desiccation spell. She's trying bring down Klaus like Mikael was brought down twenty years ago."

"If she's trying to desiccate Klaus, then why is it happening to Elijah?" Kol asked, still trying to hold his brother up, "And why not us?"

Elijah let out a weak cry of pain—his body was starting to tingle—to go numb.

Misha closed his eyes trying to focus as he answered Kol's question, "Esther knew that Elijah would be the hardest to kill out of all of you and to ensure that he died this time around, she tied his fate to the one sibling she knew everyone wanted dead."

"Nik." Rebekah whispered, looking to Kol

"What do we do?" Kol asked Misha

Elijah eyes began to flutter, his heart rate slowing down to three beats—he was counting. He could feel his skin and veins hardening.

"Take off his ring!" Misha yelled at Rebekah in sudden realization, "We need to take off his ring!"

Rebekah gave a confused look before her gaze moved down to her brothers' right hand.

"We need to break the connection! It's the only way!" Misha urged

"No…" Elijah whispered, shaking his head weakly, "Niklaus..."

"Forget him!" Kol cried at his brother, "Rebekah and I, _we_ need _you_, Elijah. Please, let us help you."

Even in his weakening state, Elijah heard and understood his brother's pleas.  
>And as he looked at his younger siblings faces, he decided in that moment, that he could worry about Niklaus later. Right now he needed to survive—for them.<p>

Elijah reluctantly nodded in slow motion and Kol's green eyes shifted to his sister

"Take it off, Rebekah!" Kol yelled

Rebekah immediately picked up Elijah's right hand and wedged the silver ring off of her brother's pinky finger.

There was a jolt and Elijah took an unnaturally deep breath as his heart jump-started again and began beating at a normal rhythm. The numbness was soon gone and his skin and veins receded back to normal, but he still felt incredibly weak.

He tried to straighten, but he fell forward immediately and felt Kol and Rebekah catch him.

The world began to spin above him.

"We need to get him into the house," Misha's voice loomed above him

Then everything went dark.


	34. Chapter 34

Elijah opened his eyes into the darkness of the forest. He sat up quickly, seemingly alone under the canopy of the tall indigenous trees. Looking up to the sky, he could see that the moon was high and was the only light being cast on the clearing he now found himself in.

Elijah had just brought himself to his feet when he heard a noise behind him.

He immediately turned to see a figure come toward him at a slow pace through the fog.

As the shadows dissipated and the figure stepped closer to Elijah and into the moonlit clearing, he saw that it was Niklaus.

Dressed in a black long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans, Klaus walked steadily toward his brother, a small smile crossing his face as he got closer.

Finally, to Elijah's surprise, when he was just feet away, his brother didn't stop, he kept coming and pulled Elijah into a tight embrace.

After a few moments, Klaus released him and stepped back, but before Elijah could say anything, his younger brother brought his hands up to the back of his neck and untied the rope necklace he was wearing and brought it up from under his shirt collar—it was the runic necklace Elijah had carved for him when they were young—the one his Mother had spelled to form their connection.

Silently, Klaus took Elijah's left hand in his and placed the necklace in his older brother's palm, before closing the fist. He then brought his other hand to his Elijah's chest, resting his hand over his brother's heart and looked straight into Elijah's eyes—the hazel meeting the brown.

"Find me." Klaus whispered...

Elijah woke with a start, his eyes darting around the room as he took in his surroundings.

There were no woods, no darkness, no Niklaus.

He was back in Misha's house, he reasoned, in the back parlor. With a heavy sigh, Elijah turned and felt the couch cushions move beneath him and then heard someone approach.

"Welcome back," Rebekah smiled as she came to his side.

"How long have I been out?" Elijah asked in a groggy voice

"At least a couple of hours," Rebekah responded, "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a bus." Elijah groaned and tried to move again

"It's probably best to lie still," Rebekah said, placing a soft, but firm hand on his chest to keep him down, "Misha said you are going to be weak for a few more hours—"

"We don't have that long—" Elijah protested in a weak voice

"Well, Kol went down to the basement to get some blood for you. We'll feed you and then you can try walking around, okay, Superman?"

Elijah sighed again with a smirk and nodded just as Kol came into the room, Misha by his side.

"Thank God, boy," Misha said, shaking his head as he came forward to stand beside Rebekah—he couldn't help but tease his oldest friend, "You were about to let yourself be desiccated, you know…_and_ in my best Brookes Brothers dress shirt—now just what the Hell is wrong with you?"

Elijah smiled and closed his eyes, "I don't know."

Then suddenly, he opened his eyes, again "Where is the ring?"

Misha looked to Rebekah and she pulled the small silver engraved circle from her jacket pocket—along with the small addition of a silver chain looped through it.

"When you were—well, when you were like _tha_t and Misha said for me to take off the ring, I thought he meant your daylight ring at first...and then I saw it..." she said softly, studying the ring, "I remember when Liliya gave this to you and how long you searched for it when it went missing..." then her gaze moved to Elijah, "How did you get it back?"

"With the help of an old friend," Elijah said softly

"Katerina?" Kol asked with a cocked eyebrow and Elijah nodded

Rebekah gripped the ring tightly as she spoke, "_Well,_ you can have it back on one condition. And that is that you wear it around your neck and _not_ on your finger. We can't lose you, too, Elijah. It was hard enough when we had one older brother with a death wish."

Elijah sighed and nodded, holding out his hand, "I promise."

Rebekah nodded too, then handed over the ring and chain, watching as Elijah placed it around his neck, tucking it inside his shirt before Kol handed him the bags of blood.

"So what's the plan?" the youngest Mikaelson asked as he stepped back

Elijah took a deep breath as his mind wandered back to his dream of Niklaus in the woods

_Find me... _

"Elijah?" Rebekah asked, pulling Elijah back to the present.

"You two are going to leave town," Elijah said turning to his siblings, "Misha will—"

"Wait, what about _you_?" Rebekah asked in a worried tone

"I'm going back to Mystic Falls…" Elijah announced, "For Niklaus."

"Are you _insane?_" Kol said in a low voice, taking a seat on the coffee table across from his brother, "From what Bekah was telling me on the way here, there is a rogue vampire hunter on the loose, not to mention the Salvatore Brothers, who I _don't think_ are going to throw a ticker-tape parade in your honor anytime soon. Elijah, Niklaus is desiccated—the Salvatores think that he sired their bloodline so they won't let any harm come to him—he'll keep for the time being. In a few months, when things calm down we can go back for him—"

"_No._" Elijah said firmly, his voice breaking, "I won't leave him. We're a family. We remain together, desiccated or not."

"Don't waste your breath, Kol." Rebekah said, crossing her arms, "This isn't just about Nik, this is about Elena_._"

Elijah looked down to the blood bags in his hands for a moment, then up to his sister.

"I made a promise to her, Rebekah," he said in a low voice, "I _have_ to make sure she's alright. It's no different from the promise I made to the two of you and to Finn and Niklaus once—and I honor my promises."

Kol shook his head in disbelief as he stood to his feet, "You're suicidal. Where is the Elijah who thinks with his head and not his heart?"

Misha grabbed Kol's shoulder in a hard grip, "Show some respect. If your brother always thought with his head rather than his heart, you would have been dead centuries ago."

Kol scoffed and turned out of Misha's grasp, quickly exiting the room in a huff.

Misha turned to follow him, but Elijah's voice stopped him.

"Let him go, Misha," Elijah said in a resigned voice as he brought his hand to his forehead, "He's right. I _am_ letting my heart lead me on this one…probably more than it should."

Rebekah moved forward and crouched by Elijah's side, pulling his hand down from his face, taking it into her own as she smiled softly to reassure him.

"_Someone_ in this family should think with their heart every once in a while. And if you're going back for Nik, I want to come, too. You need someone to watch your back," she said, then slightly rolled her eyes, "Now, I'm not _all keen_ for protecting Elena Gilbert, but if you made a promise to her, then I think you should honor it."

"Thank You." Elijah nodded

"Now, drink up," Rebekah said, looking down to the blood bags on her brother's lap as she stood, "I'll go pack the car and take care of 'whiney-puss' Kol."

Then with a wink in Misha's direction, she left the room.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Misha sighed as he came to Elijah's side, helping his friend open the first of the three blood bags.

Elijah smirked, "Me, too."

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Elijah took a deep breath and looked out the passenger side window as Rebekah pulled the car up in front of the Gilbert house.

After putting the car in park, she turned to her brother.

But, Elijah froze, a thousand thoughts—a thousand memories of Elena and their past meetings running through his head.

Dare he say that he was nervous—no, scared—no _terrified—_of seeing her again.

What would he say?

"Oh, for God sakes," Rebekah sighed, resting her hands on the steering wheel, "Just go up and ring the doorbell! There's enough sexual tension between you in this car and her in that house already to power a KISS reunion concert."

Elijah turned and narrowed his eyes at his sister, "Be nice."

"Just _go_." Rebekah scoffed and gave her brother a playful nudge as he reached for the door handle.

"I'll meet you back at the mansion after the negotiations," he said as he ducked out of the car

As he turned and shut the car door, Rebekah leaned forward and rolled down the passenger side window.

"Have fun," she teased with a smirk

Elijah waved her off, then turned and started up the front walk to the door as he heard Rebekah put the car in gear and drive away.

As he climbed the front porch steps, he straightened his jacket and tie.

But, just as he made it to the front door, to his surprise, it opened on its own and there, standing before him in the dimly lit foyer, was Elena.

He swallowed nervously as their eyes met—his filled with soft anxiety and hers with quiet surprise and…happiness?

After a few moments, she shook herself out of her trance.

"I was walking through the living room and saw you through the front window," she whispered, her eyes keeping their soft expression as she continued to study him, seemingly still wondering if he were real.

"Elena—I" Elijah started in a low voice cracking with emotion, but Elena held up hand to silence him, pointing behind her down the hall to the kitchen.

They were not alone.

"Come in," she whispered again with a soft smile and Elijah obeyed, walking quietly through the threshold of the open door with ease.

"Stefan." Elena said in a louder voice to get the attention of her companions in the other room, but didn't take her eyes off Elijah.

Elijah could feel it as her chocolate eyes continued to study him—the connection.

It warmed his heart and fed his soul…just as it always had.

At least that much hadn't changed.

Elijah reluctantly broke his gaze from Elena and she followed it back to Stefan Salvatore as he entered the hallway

"Elijah." the youngest Salvatore brother acknowledged

"Hello, again," Elijah smirked


	35. Chapter 35

_**((GOD, I AM SOOOOO EVIL...:)))**_

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Stefan scoffed as Matt Donovan came to his side

"Stefan," Elena scolded in a low voice, then turned to Elijah, "Would you like to sit down and talk?"

"_Sit down and talk_? Why is he even in this house in the first place?" Matt huffed

"Because I invited him in," Elena said firmly as she turned and walked past them, leading the way into the kitchen

Matt and Stefan stared at Elijah incredulously as he passed them, following closely on Elena's heels.

She lowered herself into a seat at one end of the dining room and smiled, nodding for Elijah to take a seat at the other end.

They stared at each other for a few moments until Stefan and Matt both entered the room, distracting Elena.

Matt tried to make himself useful by putting on some coffee, but Elijah could tell that Stefan was uncomfortable sitting with an original in the house.

He kept pacing the kitchen like a guard dog, always standing just a few feet away from Elena. The only time he moved anywhere close to Elijah was when he first entered the kitchen and called Damon, told him that Elijah was at the house, and then set the IPhone with Damon on the line in the middle of the table.

"So why are you here, Elijah?" Stefan asked directly

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head, then mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to Elijah, seemingly embarrassed by Stefan's attitude.

Elijah let his gaze linger on Elena for a moment, then turned to Stefan, "I'm here to make a deal, of course."

"What kind of deal?" Matt asked from behind the island in the center of the kitchen

"A deal that will benefit all parties," Elijah said, shifting in his chair before he continued in a low voice "I understand that my Mother has turned Alaric Saltzman into a vampire hunter."

"Yes," Elena said, the hint of pain still reverent in her voice

Elijah's face softened as he took in her pain, then continued, "I would like to make a deal that will allow for both my family and Elena's safety. First of all, I want you to turn over Klaus' body to me. When I have it—then I propose us working together to stop Alaric. All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once he's been disarmed and the weapon is in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the earth… and Alaric, will follow us." Elijah smirked, his eyes falling again to Elena, who gave a short nod, then averted her gaze as she sensed Stefan come up behind her.

Elijah watched as Stefan pulled out the empty chair between Elijah and Elena and sat himself down—seeming to have the need to come between them and break their eye contact.

"And you'll just _run?_" Stefan inquire with a raised eyebrow

"We've done it before," Elijah countered, not letting Stefan break his eye contact with Elena "Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father, what's another half-century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?"

"We _finally_ stopped him, Elijah," Elena spoke up, seeming to have the need to prove to Stefan that Elijah was not influencing her, but she also seemed to have genuine concern, "After everything he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."

"I give you _my word_, Elena," Elijah said intently boring his eyes into hers, "I will not revive Klaus with in yours—nor even within your children's lifetimes…" he paused for a moment and looked down, straightening the placemat in front of him, "Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

"Why should she trust you?" Matt said, moving forward to stand behind Elena' chair, Elena taking a deep breath and averting her gaze again, "All you've done is screw her over."

"And for that, I'm _deeply ashamed_," Elijah said, lifting his head and keeping his focus on Matt, trying to keep a handle on his heightening emotions, "But know _this_—she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight."

God he hated explaining himself to Elena's entourage—he really wished that he had just been able to deal with her alone.

It was then that a thought came to him—_he could_.

"So, Elena," he said, allowing his gaze to fall on Elena again, "I leave it to you to make the decision…whether to trust me or not."

"NOT!" Damon Salvatore's voice echoed over the IPhone's speaker in the middle of the table.

Elijah had almost forgotten that he was there, listening to their conversation.

"_Hello!_ Did that concussion give you brain damage?" Damon continued to shout and Elijah's face fell when he realized that he was talking about Elena, "his lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"

Elijah tried to push his feeling about Elena being hurt to the back of his mind as he responded, "Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms," he said looking down at the phone, then up to Matt, Stefan and Elena, "if you return Klaus' body to us, I will see that Elena will come to no harm."

There was a moment's pause as Elena's eyes shifted nervously to Stefan and Stefan straightened, his nostrils flaring.

"Do we have a deal?" Elijah asked as followed Elena's gaze to Stefan

"NO!" Damon shouted again through the phone, "No, no, no, no…did I mention? NO!"

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment before reluctantly looking out of the corner of his eye to Elena.

"Elena, it's up to you." He said in a resigned voice

"Oh, come on!" Damon cried angrily from the speaker again

Elena sat forward and met Elijah's eyes, "Why do you want Klaus' body?"

Elijah took in a breath, "He's my brother. We remain together."

Elena's eyes softened in understanding and Elijah thought he even saw Stefan straighten, clearly also understanding the importance of keeping one's family together under any circumstances.

Elena let out a breath, but Elijah could read her thoughts before she even said what she was going to say.

It seemed like she just needed to 'think about it' for her friend's benefit.

"We have a deal," she said, still staring intently at Elijah

"Thank You," he whispered and she nodded solemnly back.

Elijah looked around the room for a moment, then pushed back his chair and stood.

"Well, with that being said, I should go outside and call Rebekah. She'll want to know what is happening. Excuse me, will you?"

"Damon," Stefan's said into the phone as he picked it up off the table, "Go back to the storage unit for Klaus' body. We'll call you again when we figure out how we are going to move next."

"_Fine_," Damon sighed, "Just be sure to keep an eye on 'pretty boy original' alright?"

"You know, I can _hear_ you, Damon," Elijah scoffed, turning back toward the IPhone in Stefan's hand.

"_I know_," Damon quipped

Elijah rolled his eyes as he pulled his own phone out of his jacket pocket as he made his way out of the kitchen and down the hallway toward the front door.

As he neared the foyer, he felt a hand grab his arm from behind.

Out of reflex more than anything else, he quickly turned, grabbed the hand and with vampire speed, pinned the perpetrator against the wall next to the door.

When Elijah saw that it was Elena beneath him, her eyes wide and her breathing quick, he immediately pulled back.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, but Elena quickly cut him off by grabbing hold of his free left hand—his right still held his cell phone—and without a word, led him to the hall closet nearby.

She looked down the hallway to check that the coast was clear, then opened the door and pulled Elijah inside, closing the door behind them.

They were in complete darkness for few moments before Elena pulled the chain light above them and the closet was immediately illuminated in light.

When Elena didn't say anything only stared at him, Elijah stepped forward and placed a hand on the side of her cheek.

He too was unsure what to say, but it seemed that while their words were few, their feelings were quickly becoming palpable.

"Elena—" he whispered, but before he could get anything else out, she lurched forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight, her face buried into his shoulder.

He took in a deep breath for a moment, then closed his eyes as he felt her warmth and the sound of her now steady heartbeat, engulf him.

He slowly brought his arms around her in return, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

"I've missed you,' she whispered, "I never thought I would see you, again."

Elijah's breath staggered and he gave a small smile.

When she pulled back, she gazed deep into his eyes as he brought his hand to rest again on the side of her face.

After a moment, something caught his eye—causing him to lower his gaze to her neck.

There, safely sitting on her collar bone, was Liliya's necklace.

Elijah smiled as he lowered his hand from Elena's face to rest on the charm at her neck, her eyes following his movements.

"I'm sorry I left. Please understand that I _had to_, Elena," he said, keeping his eye on Liliya's charm, unable to look her in the eye. He was sure that if he did, he would break.

"I shouldn't be around you when I'm like that—You deserve so much more…" he whispered

Elena grabbed Elijah's hand from the charm and took it into hers, trying to meet his gaze again.

"I don't want you to leave again," she said softly

Elijah's breath caught as he forced himself to look down into her eyes.

"We _have to,_ Elena, if anything to keep you and those you love safe. As long as Alaric is following us, you and yours will come to no harm—"

"But what about you? Running from a vampire hunter is no way to live."

"I've lived that way for centuries—it won't be anything new, believe me."

Elena scoffed as she pulled out of his grasp

"I can't ask you do to that for me. It's not right-"

"You aren't asking or forcing me to do _anything_, Elena," Elijah replied, "This is _my_ decision and Rebekah and Kol understand and accept the conditions of getting back Niklaus' body. If this is the only way that I can have you safe and Niklaus and the rest of my family together, then I will take it—even if it comes with a rogue vampire hunter that we have to deal with for fifty more years."

"I can never make any of this up to you," Elena said softly, her voice suddenly filling with emotion

Elijah lowered his eyes for a moment, then gently grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her towards him.

He wasn't sure what was coming over him, but his heart, in that moment, decided to rule over his head when it came to her—Hell, why not, right? It had been ruling over it for an entire day now.

He knew what he wanted and he knew that there was a very limited opportunity that he would be alone again with Elena anytime soon.

"I—I don't know what will happen tonight or how things will turn out," he said in a low voice, "And I don't want to confuse you further—I know that you have a tough decision ahead of you when it comes to the Salvatore brothers, but I want you to know that—"

Suddenly, without warning and as though she could sense everything he was feeling, Elena cut him off by moving in quickly, and after brushing her nose against his for a moment, brought her lips to Elijah's in a soft kiss as she gently brought her arms up to wrap around his neck.

After a few moments, he eased back, but she kept her arms firmly around his neck, gently pulling him back in and deepening the kiss as he turned and backed her up against far wall of the closet


	36. Chapter 36

It was not frantic and it most definitely didn't feel wrong. It wasn't heated or fast, it was a slow, burning passion that ensnared and filled Elijah's senses as Elena pulled him closer and continued to kiss him deeply, their bodies and their tongues brought together in slow, deliberate movements.

She seemed to be so completely engulfed in him, as he was in her, that she didn't pull away at first when she heard Jeremy's voice calling her name in the hallway outside.

After a few moment, when Elena _did _pull back slowly, catching her breath, her eyes never left Elijah's.

"I—I should get out there…" she whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers and nodded, then pulled away from her, his heart still pounding in his chest and every nerve in his body on fire—it was a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time and he would be lying if he didn't say that he was reluctant to lose it anytime soon.

But she was right.

It would be better for everyone, especially Elena, if no one found her in a hall closet making out with an original vampire.

"You should go first. I'll come in later so nothing looks suspicious—I really do need to call Rebekah anyway."

But before he could turn and reach for the handle to open the closet door, she grabbed his hand in hers and held it to her chest tightly.

"Elijah, wait—listen—I—"

Elijah shook his head with a small smile and stepped toward her, bringing his lips to her forehead and leaving a soft kiss there.

"Shh…Just go." He said softly, his lips still pressed against his skin for a moment or two before he finally pulled away and slowly brought his hand out of her grasp.

She studied him for a moment before moving toward the door as he opened it for her.

And with one last look over her shoulder, she crossed the threshold.

His heart lept in his throat as his mind clicked in sudden realization.

He had seen that look before when Liliya kissed him a thousand years ago, before Mikael pulled her away to be sacrificed in the ritual.

He had seen it four hundred years later when Niklaus led Katerina away from him that day in the garden.

He had also seen it after the last time Elena had kissed him-when she left his apartment the night of the ritual to be sacrificed by Klaus.

It was the look of unrequited love—but it was also a look that said goodbye.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Elijah waited a few minutes before exiting the closet, quietly shutting the door behind him.

He had just taken a few steps toward the foyer and pulled the phone from his pocket to call his sister, when he heard Stefan's voice behind him on the staircase.

"Elijah, there you are. Where have you been? We're all in the kitchen."

Elijah gave a short nod as Stefan descended the stairs, passing by him and heading down the hallway.

When he crossed into the kitchen behind Stefan moments later, Elijah saw that everyone, indeed had assembled and were waiting for him and Stefan.

Matt was sitting on the edge of the table and Jeremy was standing at the head on the other end. Elena, seated in one of the chairs again, gave Elijah as small smile as he entered the room.

Stefan possessively took a position behind Elena as Elijah came to stand next to her, his eyes fixed on Jeremy.

"What's going on?" Elijah asked coolly

"Earlier tonight when I was at the Grille, Alaric approached me and asked me to help him by spying on all of you. He played on my wanting to free Elena's life from vampires—" Jeremy said, then suddenly shook his head to change his train of thought, "_Anyway,_ long story short, he wanted me to tell him where Klaus' body was."

Stefan instantly reflected, but Jeremy spoke quickly, raising his hands in his defense, "Don't worry, I didn't tell him _anything._"

Stefan relaxed as Elena reached back and rested her hand on his on the back of the chair.

"But, when Jeremy told me this outside a few moments ago, it got us thinking that we could _use_ this," Matt interjected, looking around the room, "Elijah wants Klaus' body and the silver stake—_we_ don't want Klaus to die because if he dies all our friends die, right? So, we could bait Alaric by having Jeremy give him false information about where he can find Klaus. When he gets there, we could be there waiting and can disarm him while one or both of the originals rendezvous with the Damon in another location with the real body and get the hell out of town."

"It could work," Stefan said, straightening, "What do you think, Elijah? Do you think that you and me could take down a vampire hunter?"

Elijah smirked at Stefan then turned back to Jeremy.

"Make the call," he said.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Five minutes later, Elijah took a deep breath of fresh air as he stepped out onto the dimly lit front porch of the Gilbert house, pulled out his phone and finally called Rebekah.

After three rings, his sister's voice boomed at the other end.

"Well, it's about _bloody time!_" she scoffed, "Did you talk to the Scoobies—are they going to give us Nik?"

"Yes. I've made arrangements with Elena, but there has been a little change in plan. I'm going to text you an address. Damon is there with Klaus' body. Instead of the body coming to us, we are going to the body. I want you to meet him and pick it up. Then, I want you to rendezvous with Kol at Misha's house and wait for me there."

"Oh, God…what are _you _going to do?" Rebekah asked in a worried tone

"I need to make sure that Alaric follows us out of town and the only way to do that is to take both our brother_ and_ the stake. Jeremy Gilbert has already called Alaric and pretended to sell his soul to him, giving him a fake location where Damon is supposedly burying Niklaus' body. We'll attack and disarm him there. Be ready to move when I arrive in Suffolk, understand?"

There was a long pause and Elijah knew that Rebekah was silently thinking to herself how crazy her brother was.

Then she said finally in a low voice, "Just be careful and come back to us in one piece, alright?"

Elijah closed his eyes and nodded, "I will."

But just as he was ready to hang up, his sister's voice stopped him.

"Elijah," she said suddenly, "I love you."

"I love you, too..." He whispered with a small smile, "Bye."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Two hours later, Elijah found himself standing alone in Stevens Woods with Caroline Forbes.

He found it unusual how quiet she was—usually she was quite the chatter box. But, understandably, from what Elijah had heard from Stefan, Caroline and her boyfriend, Tyler were themselves being hunted by another enemy—the townspeople. Alaric had let it slip to the council that the Sheriff's daughter and the Mayor's son were supernatural creatures.

But Elijah thought it noble that Caroline showed up at the Gilbert house, wanting to do all she could to help her friends before she left town.

Elijah didn't get to say goodbye to Elena, she had gone upstairs to rest when Stefan asked him and Caroline to patrol the woods, but he knew that if anything, he would call her later on his way out of town—he at least owed her that.

He had just closed his eyes and was playing back in his mind the feel of her lips and skin on his—the warmth—the softness—the passion—when Caroline's phone buzzed and Elijah opened his eyes to watch her pull it from her jean pocket.

"Stefan is on his way with Jeremy," she announced as she looked down at the lighted screen in the darkness, "He called Damon and filled him in on the plan."

Elijah nodded as he looked down, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

He could feel Caroline's eyes shift toward him as she turned the phone off and placed it back in her pocket.

"I—I'm sorry…about your Mother and your brother," she whispered finally

"Thank You." Elijah said in a low voice, still keeping his eyes on the ground

Caroline turned her eyes away, looking out into the forest as she continued.

"Are you really going to wait so long to awaken Klaus?" she asked, her voice soft, trying to sound indifferent, but failing miserably.

Elijah lifted his head and looked over to her.

"Yes." He said

Caroline took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's a long time to be without someone you love," she whispered

"It is." Elijah said, still studying her to gauge her feelings.

Did she care about Klaus? He dared not think it before, but a sudden realization came to him. She was now turning away from him because she was _crying_. So, it was possible. Or maybe she was just upset about leaving home and her own Mother behind.

Elijah's suspicions were confirmed when she sniffed and brought a hand to her face.

"I mean—he's your brother—it's going to be hard," she said still trying to sound indifferent again between more sniffs.

"It will be," he said, taking a step closer.

He suddenly felt sorry for Caroline—_God_, was every teenage girl in Mystic Falls this confused about their love life?

He desperately searched his mind for something to say to comfort her, but he stopped when he felt his own phone vibrate.

He quickly pulled it from his jacket pocket and flipped on the screen.

It was from Rebekah.

**At the storage facility. I'll text again when we're on the move.**

Elijah had just placed his phone in his pocket when Caroline turned back to him, wiping her eyes.

"I hear car doors. I think Stefan and Jeremy are here."

Elijah opened his hearing.

It was miles away, but he also heard them.

"Let's head that way then," he said, "It won't be long before Alaric gets here,"

They moved silently through the woods.

They would have moved at vampire speed, but Stefan had sent them out there to be vigilant and to scan the woods for signs of Alaric approaching.

So he took point and she followed close behind as they moved stealthily through the forest.

They had walked less than a mile, when Elijah stopped, clutching his chest with a sudden feeling of nausea.

As he leaned on a nearby tree, Caroline came to his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked

"I'm fine," he said trying to ignore the dull pain in his rib cage and waving her off, "Go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

Caroline reluctantly nodded and kept going.

Elijah took a few deep breaths, then willed himself upright again and within moments, was not far behind her.

When they reached the side of the hill near the hollow, Elijah heard Elena's brother's voice at the top.

"Stefan, Elena's not _at_ home," Jeremy said, "Matt and I…we're getting her out of town,"

"It's going to be fine," Stefan said in a low voice, after a moment, a voice that he seemed to be using to reassure Jeremy but sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself, "Klaus was lying. We're all going to be okay."

Something immediately sparked in Elijah and he hurried to crest of the hill with a confused Caroline close behind.

"What happened?" he asked in a concerned voice, his eyes meeting Stefan's as the youngest Salvatore brother turned to face them, but somehow, after what happened a few moments ago back in the woods and seeing the look that now spread across Stefan's face as the sight of the two of them, Elijah somehow knew in his heart what the answer was before Stefan spoke it.

"Stefan?" Caroline prompted, her voice quickly filling with fear and anxiety

Elijah took a step back in shock and disbelief, his mind reeling.

**_Niklaus..._**

When Stefan still didn't say anything after a few moments, Elijah turned to Caroline, still dumbstruck

"You should go find Tyler," he whispered absentmindedly, "He shouldn't be alone."

Caroline's face fell and she broke into sobs as she took off with vampire speed into the night.

"I'm sorry, Elijah…" Stefan started

But Elijah raised a hand to silence him.

"No… you're _not_," he scoffed in a low voice, fighting back the tears as he turned and walked away.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Elijah walked through the woods aimlessly for what felt like an eternity, unsure where to go or what do next—after centuries, it felt like a weight had been lifted, only to be replaced by the most horrible pain he could possibly imagine and a darkness that didn't seem to want to leave him.

As he wove through the trees absentmindedly, a thousand memories rushed through his brain at once—and even more emotions—love, hate, anger, grief…

When he reached to rock face to the caverns below the woods, Elijah stopped for a moment, taking in the sight with stunned silence.

How ironic that his aimless path led him here—where he and his siblings shared so many good and bad memories?

Elijah took in a deep breath before sitting down against the side of the rock face, reaching into his jacket pocket and dialing Elena's number.

He waited as the phone rang twice, then Elena answered.

"Elena," Elijah said in a low, breaking voice

Elena took in a sharp breath, "Elijah…"

"I'm sure Stefan's told you the grim news."

"I'm sorry, Elijah." Elena lamented sincerely, "I _really_ am. He was still your brother."

"I'm sorry, too...about Stefan and Damon," he said, trying to sound sympathetic, "When they weren't trying to kill my siblings and myself every fifteen minutes, I sort of liked them."

Elena sniffed and Elijah could tell she had already been crying.

His heart ached for her, but he was in pain, too, at the moment and wasn't sure what else to say.

"Thanks," she whispered

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Rebekah and I are honoring our end of the deal. Klaus is dead, but we're still leaving town. My hope is that Alaric will follow us and leave you all to live out your lives... I just wanted to say goodbye."

There was a moment's pause before Elena spoke

"Elijah, about earlier—"

"I've told you before, Elena," Elijah said, standing up off of the rock, trying to deflect her. His feelings were already as crushed as he was going to let them get tonight, "you don't owe me _anything._ But, I want to thank you. You've given me a priceless gift, Elena. You've been a good and compassionate friend when I've needed one. And you've brought back feelings I've been wanting to feel for over a thousand years—feelings I never thought I _would_ or _could _ feel ever again—feelings and memories of when I was human—"

"You've _always_ been human to me." Elena whispered

Elijah smiled, "Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself."

"Matt and I will be home soon, could you just wait—"

"It's better for everyone if we leave now," Elijah said, cutting her off gently, "Promise me."

"I promise," Elena replied, then after another pause, asked, "Will I ever see you again?"

"I'll be around if you ever need me," Elijah said softly, then took another breath, "Goodbye, Elena."

Then he closed his eyes in pain as he pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the end button on his touch screen.

After a moment, Elijah placed the cell phone back in his pocket and turned, finding himself face-to-face with Stefan Salvatore.

His mind immediately raced.

If Niklaus turned Rose's bloodline, then why wasn't Stefan dying in the woods somewhere right now or at the very least sick and weakened—it had been nearly two hours since Klaus' death.

"Stefan?" Elijah asked in a confused voice, "You're still alive."

"I'm still alive," Stefan smirked sadly, "I spoke to Caroline though, Tyler Lockwood is dead."

Elijah shook his head, "I'm sorry for her—really I'm sorry for them_ both._ He didn't deserve that, none of you do…How did you find me?"

"I tracked you," Stefan said in a low voice, shoving his hands in his pockets nervously

Elijah nodded before taking a deep breath.

"I just got off the phone with Elena—"

"I heard," Stefan replied, "You're still leaving town."

"Yes." Elijah said, walking past Stefan

"Elijah, wait," Stefan said, turning, "_Please._"

After a few steps, Elijah willed himself to stop.

He knew why Stefan had tracked him. He also knew what he wanted to say.

And as much as Elijah wanted to keep walking and not listen to Stefan's platitudes, he decided, for Elena's sake, to humor him.

Elijah looked back over his shoulder as Stefan stepped forward.

"You were right earlier. I _hated _Klaus and I'm _not_ sorry he's dead, but I _am_ sorry… for your sake and for your siblings," Stefan said in a quiet voice, "I know what it's like. Almost two hundred years ago, I watched my brother get shot by our father and die on the side of the road… and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It's hard to watch someone you love slip through your fingers like that and you feel powerless to stop it."

Elijah nodded in acknowledgement, then after a moment, said in a low voice, trying to show some compassion as he turned back to the young vampire.

"I wish you the best, Stefan. Take care."

And with that, Elijah turned and disappeared into the night

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ## #

Elijah was just making his way out of Stevens Woods when he sensed a presence behind him.

When he turned, he found himself staring at the tear-stained face of his younger sister.

Elijah hadn't let his emotions regarding Niklaus' death to come yet, but seeing his sister in such pain, finally brought his own to the surface.

"He's _gone_, Elijah," she said in a voice cracked with emotion, "there was nothing I could do to stop it."

Elijah walked quickly forward as she started to sob, taking her into his arms as he felt his own tears start to come.

He held her tightly for a few moments as she cried on his shoulder.

When he pulled back, he took in his sister's face.

There would be time to grieve, but a question still lingered in his mind.

"Tyler Lockwood is dead, but the rest survived. I thought you said that you were sure that Niklaus turned their bloodline."

"I thought he did." Rebekah replied, stunned

Elijah narrowed his eyes.

Misha was also sure of what he saw in his vision during the reading-that Niklaus was Mary Porter's sire and therefore, by default, Rose's.

Something was not right.

"It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol…" Elijah said, trying to sort his thoughts

"It wasn't me, Elijah," Rebekah added, "It was Niklaus, I'm _sure of it_."

Elijah turned his head in thought for a moment, before looking back to his sister.

"Then how are they still alive?"

"I don't know." Rebekah shook her head

Elijah took a deep breath, "Well, we can't worry about that right now. I just spoke to Elena. Matt was getting her out of town, but they should be back any minute. Alaric won't harm her because she's his link to the living world, but he will still want us dead, Rebekah. I told Elena we were leaving and we _should_ leave."

Rebekah closed her eyes in thought for a moment then looked to her brother once more.

"Alright. But, I'm going by the mansion first—there is something that I need to do." she said

"Rebekah, we don't have time—"

"Please, Elijah. Just one thing and then we'll go. I'll just be a fifteen minutes and I'll meet you back here."

Elijah studied his sister for a moment before pulling her back into a hug.

Every instinct in his body told him not to let her go, that it might mean losing someone that he loved—God, help him if Alaric went by the mansion and found her there—but he also knew Rebekah was stubborn and that she could take care of herself.

"Be careful," he said when he pulled back

She nodded, then in a moment, was gone.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Elijah was still waiting at the edge of the woods ten minutes later when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He removed it and looked at the lighted screen.

It was Kol.

A wave of anxiety shot through him immediately as he hit the talk button on the touch screen.

"Kol? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Misha's fine…except, well, Niklaus—I hear that he's _not_ fine, Elijah."

Elijah closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kol, we couldn't—"

"Elijah, I should tell you something before you keep talking." Kol said, nervously

Elijah straightened, his eyes narrowing in confusion, "What is it?"

"Well, don't freak out…" Kol said gently

"Then you should tell me," Elijah retorted, trying to hold his feelings in check

"Uh…well, the thing is...Bonnie Bennett is here—in Misha's house—standing right in front of me."

Elijah's heart dropped, "What?"

"She brought me Nik's necklace. She said that he told her that _you_ would know what it meant."

Elijah's mind immediately flashed to the dream he had when he was knocked out cold—Niklaus approaching him in the woods—removing his runic necklace—his childhood link to Elijah.

"_Find me."_ He had whispered when he placed it in his brother's hand.

The phone fell slightly from Elijah's ear—he felt like he was going to collapse any moment.

It was then that a beeping sound came from his phone.

He pulled it away from his ear and saw that he had a call waiting from Stefan Salvatore.

He hit 'ignore' and put the phone back to his ear, but before he could continue his conversation with Kol, the beeping noise returned.

It was Stefan, again.

Elijah took a deep breath and scoffed, "Hold on, Kol."

"Hold on?" Kol asked angrily, "Hold on? I'm telling you that Bonnie Bennett, witch extraordinaire, has just told me my brother's dead, handed me his necklace and is standing in front of me with a very scary look on her face and you are telling me to _hold on? _You're joking, right?"

"I'll be right back, Kol."

"Elijah!"

Elijah shook his head as he hit the button to switch the calls and answered the other line in a frustrated tone.

"What is it Stefan?"

"Elijah, I need you to come to Wickery Bridge right now!" Stefan yelled into the phone.

He sounded out of breath and in the background, Elijah could hear the sound of his feet hitting the pavement in a hard sprint.

Then he heard the sound of Stefan's phone hitting the ground...

Then the splashing of water…

And the line went dead.


	37. Chapter 37

**_(HERE WE GOOOOOOO! Dante 101, I hope you like these next few chapters:) They are for you)_**

With the aide of vampire speed, Elijah found himself on the road leading up to Wickery Bridge within moments of Stefan's call.

Initially he saw no sign of Stefan—or anyone or anything for that matter.

But, as he walked quickly toward the head of the bridge, he suddenly started to notice some things—like tire skid marks leading to the left side of the bridge and Stefan's IPhone in shattered in pieces on the pavement.

Elijah's mind raced as his eyes immediately scanned the still water below the bridge.

Nothing.

Just then, the surface broke and Elijah saw Stefan Salvatore take in a huge breath, shaking the water from his face as he swam quickly toward the nearby embankment, dragging something behind him—what looked like an unconscious person.

It was as he looked closer that he realized that it was Matt Donovan.

Elijah's heart dropped as the realization hit him of what had happened.

Stefan's call…

The skidmarks…

Stefan dragging Matt Donovan to the shore…

"Elena," Elijah whispered in a trembling voice

He quickly removed his suit jacket and tossed it aside on to the road, then sprinted for the side of the bridge, hurling himself over the rail and diving headfirst into the water.

The water was cold and hit Elijah's body like a hundred sharp knives, but he had felt worse pain.

As he dove deeper toward the bottom of the quarry, the initial murkiness began to clear and he could see something several feet in front of him—Matt Donovan's truck.

Elijah felt a sickening feeling coming over him as he swam closer—praying silently that Elena was not still in the truck—that somehow she was okay—that she had already made it out or that Matt had already dropped her off at her home.

Worst case scenario—Elena was in the truck, conscious and trapped either by a seatbelt or a door.

However, the door theory didn't seem to be an issue.

As Elijah approached closer, he could see where Stefan had already torn the driver's side door off and tossed it aside.

When he came to the entrance and peered through the opening, his worst fears were confirmed—Elena had been trapped.

But, she was no longer struggling. Her eyes were closed and her face was peaceful as she floated with her arms open, anchored by her seatbelt.

Elijah swam through and took her face in his hands, studying her features, hoping her eyes would open at his touch.

_**Please, God, just let her be unconscious**_… he thought to himself as he reached down to the seatbelt and tried to unfasten it.

When it wouldn't budge, he took hold of the strap across Elena's chest and pulled hard, finally snapping the belt free.

He gently maneuvered Elena through the seatbelt and pulled her against his chest as he slid back through the driver's side opening and kicked for the surface of the water.

When he emerged, he took a deep breath and pulled Elena closer to him, leaning an ear toward her still placid face, listening for breathing sounds—but there were none.

"Damn it..." he whispered as he brought his hand up to her throat, feeling for a pulse.

There wasn't one.

Pulling her against his chest again, he quickly started swimming toward Stefan on the nearby embankment.

When Stefan saw Elijah, he left Matt's side and ran immediately toward the edge of the shoreline, wading into the water to help him bring Elena ashore.

"She's not breathing," Elijah said in a breathless tone as Stefan took Elena in to his arms and laid her on the sand.

He immediately started CPR, but as Elijah fell onto the ground nearby and started looking hard at Elena, he knew that Stefan's efforts were in vein.

She was gone.

He expected the grief and the pain to suddenly hit him in that moment, but all he could do was stare at Elena—this precious, fragile human, who had died long before her time.

Elijah was numb—mostly from shock.

Only Stefan Salvatore's sobbing, pulled him out of his own world for a moment, as the youngest Salvatore brother finally fell back defeated on the sand, his eyes never leaving Elena as his own face crumbled.

"She wouldn't let me save her," he said softly, as he sobbed, "She demanded that I take Matt first."

Elijah closed his eyes.

That was why Elena was still in the car—why Stefan was pulling Matt Donovan to safety when he arrived.

It had been Elena's choice—_this_ had been Elena's choice.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

The ambulance that Stefan called with Elijah's phone arrived a few minutes later.

The paramedics assessed that Stefan had saved Matt Donovan's life—he was unconscious with a severe concussion, but alive.

They loaded him and Elena's body into the ambulance before one of the paramedics turned to back to Stefan and Elijah.

"We can only take one of you," he said in a remorseful voice

Stefan nodded solmenly, but Elijah smirked as he stepped from Stefan's side toward the young paramedic—who looked no older than Kol when he died—and brought his dark brown eyes to focus on the young man's blue.

"I am _not l_eaving her," he said, in a low, sadistic voice, "You are taking the _both_ of us or so help me God, I will rip out both yours and your partner's jugulars and drive the ambulance _myself_. Now step aside and let us on board."

The young man took a ragged breath and nervously stepped aside.

It was then that Stefan realized that Elijah had not compelled the paramedic at all.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

When the ambulance arrived at Mystic Falls General, they were ironically met by Dr. Fell, who Stefan introduced to Elijah as a friend and ally. Though, Elijah thought it cruel that they should meet under the circumstances they were meeting.

Elijah also couldn't help but notice that as she assessed Elena's body, Dr. Fell seemed shaken and more than a little disturbed.

If she was really a friend to them, then it would make sense that the shock of Elena's death would affect her, but somehow, it felt to him like there was something else.

After she sent Elena's body to the morgue, Dr. Fell went to work attending Matt Donovan in one of the nearby exam rooms, leaving Stefan and Elijah in the hallway.

Still numb, Elijah took a seat in a nearby chair as Stefan took off.

Elijah knew in his heart where Stefan was heading and he decided it was best to let him go.

It was good that she wouldn't be alone.

Elijah closed his eyes and willed his emotions to come, but surprisingly, there was nothing.

The pain was there, but nothing else—just…emptiness.

After what felt like hours, Elijah felt a hand on his arm.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Meredith Fell.

She smiled weakly down at him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I was worried. You're in shock. You shouldn't sleep."

"I wasn't asleep," Elijah said softly as he sat up and watched Meredith take a seat beside him.

"Where is Stefan?" she asked

"With Elena," Elijah answered

Elijah watched as Meredith looked around the room for a moment, seeming to assess that no one was listening to their conversation, before turning to face the original.

"Listen," she said softly, measuring her words carefully, "There's something I think you should know…"

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

A few minutes later, Elijah threw open the door to a supply closet in the hallway of the hospital, Dr. Fell's words still fresh in his mind as he moved inside and closed the door angrily behind him, shoving a chair under the handle.

He paced around the small room for a moment like a caged animal, unsure of what to do as his emotions finally started to seep through.

Seeing Elena's still, lifeless body hadn't been able to do it, but hearing the words that had come out of Meredith Fell's mouth-what she had told him she'd done-had.

Dying had been Elena's choice, he knew, and that, in time, he knew he could accept.

But _this? _This was not what she wanted.

_This _was _not_ her choice. And found that he was angry for her-for the life she would never have.

Liliya and Katerina had nver been give a chance to live. He had been bound and determined that Elena would get the chance to be human. To grow up and make mistakes along the way. To go to college and find a husband. To have children. To do something good to change the world before dying at an old age.

Images suddenly flooded his brain of Elena, from their first meeting to their last goodbye hours before.

Her chocolate eyes softening as they focused on him in compassionate understanding...

The warmth of her skin and touch when she stood close to him...

Her heartbeat...

The way she smiled at him and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear...

Elijah grabbed three nearby mops and broke the handles angrily across his knee, then threw them with a loud scream at side wall a few feet away, the force causing what was left of the mops to shatter into splinters.

He kicked the pieces and a metal trash bin into another far corner, then threw himself at the wall, kicking and punching the drywall as tears started to form in his eyes and stream down his face.

It was as he finally turned and fell back against the wall, exhausted and trying to calm himself, that he heard Damon's voice in the hallway outside.

"Where is she?" Damon cried angrily,

"Damon, wait!" Meredith shouted nearby

"Where is she?" Damon continued and Elijah knew he was searching for her frantically

"You need to know that when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier today, her injuries were worse than I let on" Meredith said, trying to keep her voice even, "It wasn't a concussion; it was a cerebral hemorrhage—bleeding on the brain."

"What are you saying?" Damon asked

"He was so worried I didn't want to tell him but—I _helped_ her…she needed my help."

Elijah felt his legs collapse beneath him as he slid down the wall and onto the floor, bringing his hands to his face as he sobbed, hearing Damon's reaction mirror his own outside the door.

"You _did what?_" Damon scoffed in disbelief


	38. Chapter 38

When Elijah emerged from the utility closet, he wasn't quite sure how much time had elapsed. But, he could tell by looking out the windows that lined the hallway to the orange colored sky, that it was nearly sunrise.

He surveyed the corridor and found the hospital quiet, except for a few night nurses walking the halls, moving in and out of rooms, checking on patients.

Elijah saw one go into Matt Donovan's room-a tall, slender, dark haired woman in Sponge Bob Square Pants scrubs-and followed her.

He watched silently from the doorway as she took Matt's vitals, then looked up at his heart monitor before scribbling in his medical chart.

When she turned, she found herself face to face with Elijah.

She jumped momentarily, then smiled, clutching the chart to her chest.

"Oh, my goodness! You frightened me."

"I'm sorry," Elijah lamented with a sad smile of his own, "I'm a friend of Matt's. How is he doing?"

The nurse raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of giving information to him.

"He doesn't have any family in town. It's just his friends." He said, trying to put the nurse at ease about releasing information to non-family members.

After a moment, she sighed as she looked over her shoulder at the young man lying on the bed unconscious.

"He took a solid knock to the head, but there is no internal bleeding and his vitals look good. Hopefully, he'll be fully conscious here very soon. Now, visiting hours have ended, you know—"

"Yes. I know. I just wanted to check in on him before I left. I'll come back tomorrow. Thank You." Elijah nodded, but as he turned to leave the room, the nurse continued.

"I heard about the teenage girl they pulled out of the car with him—that she didn't make it. Was she a friend of yours as well?"

Elijah couldn't speak the words, he could only nod again.

The nurse's face fell as she stepped forward and placed an empathetic hand on his arm, "I'm sorry for your loss."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

After checking the morgue and finding it empty, Elijah figured Stefan and Damon had moved Elena either back to her house or to the Salvatore's. He decided he would head back to the mansion, rest, change his clothes—his shirt and pants were still damp from his rescue attempt hours earlier—rendezvous with Rebekah, finally call Kol back, then get the hell out of town and as far away from his grief as possible.

Elena was in safe hands.

Elijah had just cleared the hospital's main automatic glass door and had taken a few steps into the small desolate parking lot, when he felt a presence nearby.

But before he could react, he quickly found himself thrown against the side of brick wall, pinned there by Damon Salvatore.

Elijah took a measured breath to control himself.

He could easily overpower Damon and reverse their positions, but given the night that they had both had, he decided to let Damon have the upper hand temporarily.

Like earlier, the emotions on Damon's features still matched Elijah's—a mixture of fear, anger and grief.

As he lowered his face closer to Elijah's, Damon's eyes veined out and his fangs extended.

"Give me _one _good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand?" Damon growled, pulling the white oak stake from the back of his blue jeans and bringing the point to the right angle at Elijah's chest over his heart.

Elijah flared his nostrils and glared at the younger Salvatore Brother as he spoke in a low, measured voice, "_Do it._ Honestly, right now—after everything that's happened—I just want it to end."

Damon took in Elijah's words, then after a moment, Damon's face fell and his vampire features receded as he slowly retracted the stake from Elijah's chest and released the original from his grasp as he scoffed, "Well, it's not worth it if you're all repentant about it. I'm better off saving it for your sister."

Elijah quickly grabbed hold of Damon by the lapels of his leather jacket and spun them with vampire speed, throwing him hard against the wall.

Damon let out a whimper and the stake fell onto the concrete with a loud clatter.

"You _stay away from my sister_—"

Damon studied Elijah's face for a moment then narrowed his eyes, "_Oh, my God_, you don't know what she did, _do you_?"

Elijah cocked his head, "I'm listening."

"Stefan told me Rebekah called him right before the accident and told him that she was planning to kill Elena to get rid of Ric. And she succeeded. It wasn't an accident. _She_ was the one who ran Matt Donovan's truck off the bridge, Elijah."

Elijah quickly released Damon from his grasp in disbelief, though, thinking about it he suddenly realized that it was a probable scenario.

Rebekah had left his side in the woods, claiming she had some unfinished business back at the house. But, the time between her leaving and Stefan's phone call would have given her plenty of time to get to the bridge to intercept Matt and Elena.

And the worst part was that he given her the ammunition she needed to do it. He had told her that Elena and Matt were almost back to town—he had also told her that they had to keep running and that Alaric would follow them.

Elijah knew that one-Rebekah resented Elena and two-that she would do anything to keep from spending another thousand years running from a vampire hunter.

He felt his heart wrench and anger quickly swell inside of him.

Elijah inhaled a sharp breath and suddenly took off into the night, leaving Damon in the floodlights of the otherwise dark hospital parking lot.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

An hour later, Elijah used one of his favorite tricks, tossing gravel from a neighbors drive like flying shrapnel, shattering the front door of Misha's house into splinters with a loud crash.

Misha came quickly down the stairs as Elijah walked through the threshold with heavy steps.

"Where is she?" Elijah asked angrily, not making eye contact with Misha as his friend came immediately to the original's side, trying to place a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Elijah," Misha said, trying to keep his voice even as he desperately tried to make his friend see reason, "Don't say anything you'll regret—you're angry—"

"Stay out of this!" Elijah cried, as he tossed Misha's had aside and Misha stepped back, watching Elijah pass him and continue down the hall.

Just as Elijah came to the front parlor doors, Kol appeared with vampire speed in front of him and started launching blows at his older brother.

Elijah easily blocked Kol's hits, then as they turned in a circle, Elijah ducked Kol's final blow, then as he stood, kicked the younger original square in the chest, sending him crashing through the glass of the parlor doors. As the glass shattered, Kol slid across the hardwood floor into the foot of the couch on the opposite side of the room.

As Elijah stepped through the holes left in the door frames, Rebekah came out to the center of the room to face him, her face defiant as she folded her arms across her chest.

Before she could say anything to defend herself, Elijah realized that he didn't care what she had to say and without thinking—his mind still flooded with anger and grief—he suddenly let out a low growl and moved quickly toward her, his hand raised to strike her.

"_Elijah, no!"_ Misha's voice called from behind him in the threshold and Elijah immediately came to his senses and his hand stopped in midair—his face inches from Rebekah's—the fear and shock evident in her dark green eyes.

Who was this person he was becoming? What were his feelings doing to him?

Is this what it had come to?

That he had turned into his father and his brother—men who always let anger get the better of them when they couldn't process other emotions?

Elijah had always tried to protect Rebekah.

He had been there the October night she was born by candlelight.

One year later, he had watched her take her first steps in the barn toward Niklaus.

He had taught her to ride and to hunt.

But more importantly, he had taught her how to wield a sword and defend herself so that no man could ever do her harm.

All these years, he had never stopped being her protector—from their narrow escapes from their father over the last thousand years—to times he had cleaned up her messes after she accidentally lost control and killed human men—to the night he stepped between her and Niklaus' dagger, going into the fifty year hibernation that had been meant for her.

Now, he found himself as the one who wanted to do her physical harm.

He slowly, albeit reluctantly, lowered his hand back to his side and sunk into a nearby chair, his anger and grief, suddenly quelled by shame.

Elijah took a breath and tried to bring himself to reason.

It was not the noble thing to do harm a woman—no matter what the circumstances.

He would have to fight with his words, like he always had.

"Took you long enough to find me," Rebekah finally scoffed, straightening her posture and ridiculing her brother to hide her fear and anxiety over what had just transpired between them.

Elijah narrowed his eyes as he looked up to his sister from where he sat.

"You disgust me," he whispered

"Why?" Rebekah challenged in a low voice, "Because I did what you couldn't—or should I say _wouldn't!_"

"Do you have any idea what you have done? You broke our word, Rebekah!" Elijah cried harshly, his eyes flaring, "You broke _my_ word!"

"I did it for the greater good—"

"Don't give me that!" Elijah scoffed with a raised hand as he stood quickly from his chair, turning his back on her as he walked a few paces toward the doorway, "You didn't do it for the greater good, you did it out of revenge and spite! I should have known that you could never change—you're still the same selfish, temperamental, Rebekah!"

"_Someone _had to avenge Nik's death and more _importantly, someone_ had to protect this family and end the vicious cycle that has haunted us for a thousand years! I'm tired, Elijah!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air, "I'm _so_ tired of running. I just want us to be a normal family again. I want us to be _free_—free to go where we want and do what we please and not have to worry about always looking over our shoulder! And if Elena was the collateral damage...so be it!"

Elijah turned back to face his sister.

He empathized with her wanting a normal life free of vampire hunters—for wanting revenge for Niklaus' death.

He could not deny that he had felt all of those things himself at one time and wanted to see them realized, but that didn't mean that he would have been reckless enough to endanger other people's lives to do it.

After a few moments of silence, Rebekah stepped forward as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Look, I'm sorry that Elena had to die, Elijah, truly I am—"

"That's just _it_, Rebekah—" Elijah said with a trembling voice, "One—I don't believe for a second that you _are_ sorry and two—Elena's not dead."

Rebekah quickly whirled around to Misha, who was kneeling on the other side of the room near Kol's still unconscious body.

"You said you saw her in your vision—"

"I did." Misha confirmed as he rose to his feet, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he looked to Elijah.

"It seems she died with vampire blood in her system." Elijah said in a low voice, "She's in transition."

"Elijah, honestly, I didn't know that that would happen—" Rebekah quickly countered, breathlessly

"I know," Elijah lamented

"Will she turn?" Misha asked

"I don't know." Elijah answered truthfully, "All I know is that she didn't want this—this wasn't how her life was supposed to end. I think I'm angrier about that than anything."

"Elijah—" Rebekah started, but Elijah raised a hand to silence her.

"Rebekah," Elijah said, his voice turning hard, as his eyes focused on his sister, the veins growing prominent around his eyes, "I know you didn't mean for this outcome to occur, but you still took rash action against Elena with the specific intent of killing her for your own personal vengeance and gain. You broke the word of your family and have shamed us. I want you to leave my sight _immediately_—I don't want to look at you—I don't want to hear from you—I don't want to know you. I just want you to _stay away…_"

Rebekah visibly flinched at her brother's words, the tears quickly filling her eyes.

"Elijah, _no_…" she whispered, reaching her hand out to her brother, but Elijah quickly stepped back and Misha gasped as he pulled the white oak stake from the inside of his suit jacket.

"But, we're family," Rebekah sobbed, "surely you don't mean to punish me forever?"

Inside, his heart was breaking, but on the outside, Elijah knew he had to look fierce and be strong. The veins around his eyes grew more prominent and his fangs started to extent.

"I said _leave,_" he growled

Rebekah's face contorted with pain as she quickly fled the house with vampire speed.

As soon as she was gone, Elijah immediately dropped the stake onto the wooden floor, closing his eyes as his fangs receded and the veins under his eyes disappeared—only to be replaced by the tears that now streamed down his face.

"_What have you done_?" Misha whispered, shaking his head

"I did what was necessary," Elijah said, opening his eyes, "She has to learn that her actions have serious consequences, Misha."

"But did you have to do it like _that?_" the warlock asked incredulously

"You have been my friend and ally for over a thousand years, so you should know by now that _everything_ I do has an underlying purpose—that that I am _always_ one step ahead despite the feelings I might be experiencing at the time. You see, I'm not the only one who is angry over what Rebekah did to Elena. And it's better that _I_ threaten her with the white oak stake and force her to leave town, then for her to stay and run into Damon Salvatore wielding it."

"So it was all an act?" Misha asked confused

"No," Elijah said, leaning down to pick up the white oak stake, twirling it in his right hand, "I _meant_ what I said." Then after a few moments pause continued, "But she's my sister, Misha, and no matter how angry I am with her—I will still _always_ protect her."

"Always and forever," Misha smirked

"Something like that," Elijah said softly, then extended his arm and flipped the stake's handle out to Misha, "I want you to hide this where no one will _ever_ find it—_especially_ the Salvatore Brothers."

Misha nodded, taking the stake tentatively into his hand, then silently turned and made his way back to Kol's side as the youngest Mikaelson brother started to come to.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Elijah took in a deep unsteady breath as he walked through the rubble of the main door out onto the front porch.

With a heavy sigh, he seated himself on the porch swing, taking in the events of the day.

He immediately felt older than his thousand years as the feelings of anger, guilt, shame, grief continued to swim inside him.

He had lost Niklaus, Elena and Rebekah all in the same day.

It was overwhelming—so overwhelming that he suddenly felt numb again.

What would he do now? Where would he go? What was his purpose?

Suddenly, he felt his phone buzzing inside his jacket.

He blinked and straightened as he pulled the cell from his pocket and looked at the screen.

It was Stefan Salvatore.

Elijah hit the answer button.

"Stefan?"

"Elijah," Stefan said, skipping the formal greeting, "Elena's awake."

"How is she? Is she alright?" Elijah asked quickly, then silently reprimanded himself for asking such an obviously dumb question given the circumstances.

Of course she _wasn't alright_.

"She's in transition." Stefan deadpanned

"I'm sorry, of course, forgive me. It's been a long night. What can I do for you, Stefan?"

"I think the important question is what can _you_ do for Elena?" Stefan countered

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he gripped the phone tighter.

"Excuse me?" he asked, confused

There was a moment of silence.

"She's asking for you." Stefan said finally


	39. CODA

**Dearest Friends and Readers, **

**This is the end for 'Lies My Brother Told Me'. **

**The saga will continue where we left off with this story line in 'Some Things You Can't Go Back To'. **

**I****t's now up! **

**Enjoy! And as always, thanks for reading!:) **

**Anne **


End file.
